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[DEDICATED  SEPTEMBER  29,  1803.] 


SKETCHES 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  CHUKCH 


NEW    ENGLAND. 


BY 


REV.  JAMES   FITTON. 


BOSTON: 

PATRICK     3D  O  UST  A.  H  O  K . 

1872. 


BX 
F55 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872, 

BY  PATRICK  DONAHOE, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


Stereotyped  at  the  Boston  Stereotype  Foundry, 
19  Spring  Lane. 


PREFACE. 


THE  object  contemplated  in  this  small  volume 
of  Sketches,  was,  to  give  as  succinct  an  account 
as  possible  of  the  introduction  of  our  Holy  Reli- 
gion, and  the  foundation  of  its  early  churches,  to 
assist,  at  least  partially,  the  future  historian,  who 
will  write  of  the  several  Dioceses,  of  which  there 
are  already  five,  where  a  few  years  ago  there  was 
but  one,  embracing  the  six  New  England  States. 

To  the  honor  and  glory  of  God,  and  to  the 
spiritual  advantage  of  thousands,  as  already  seen, 
has  been  the  erection  of  these  Dioceses,  in  which 
so  many  churches,  academies,  convents,  schools, 
confraternities,  and  other  religious,  literary,  and 
benevolent  Institutions  have  been  introduced. 

The  Editor  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to 

3 


4  PREFACE. 

the  "  Journal "  of  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick,  to 
Dr.  J.  G.  Shea's  "History  of  Catholic  Missions," 
to  the  "  Catholic  Observer,"  and  "  Boston  Pilot," 
wherein  several  interesting  events  here  mentioned 
have  appeared,  or  been  alluded  to,  as  well  as  to 
those  gentlemen  who  assigned  dates  to  facts  here- 
in published. 

The  parents  of  the  Editor  were  of  the  congre- 
gation of  one  hundred,  who  assembled  for  divine 
worship,  at  the  close  of  the  last  century,  in  the 
small  rented  building  originally  occupied  by  the 
Huguenots  on  School  Street.  Baptized  by  the 
venerated  Reverend  Dr.  Matignon,  confirmed  by 
Right  Rev.  Dr.  De  Cheverus,  and  admitted  to 
Holy  Orders  by  the  illustrious  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
Fenwick,  are  events  mentioned,  as  far  as  they 
may  have  weight,  in  authenticity  of  what  has 
been  here  compiled,  as  his  name  or  pretensions, 
otherwise,  he  allows  to  be  of  no  consideration. 


CONTENTS. 


FAGS 

THE  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION  OF  AMERICA.  .  .  7 

THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND 34 

BRIEF  VIEW  OF  THE  MISSIONARY  L,\BORS  OF  THE 

EARLY  JESUIT  FATHERS 63 

INTRODUCTION  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN 

BOSTON.  . 74 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  BOSTON So 

CONSECRATION  OF  RIGHT  REV.  JOHN  DE  CHEVERUS.  no 
CONSECRATION  OF  RIGHT  REV.  BENEDICT  J.  FENWICK.  121 

DIOCESE  OF  HARTFORD 188 

DIOCESE  OF  BURLINGTON 239 

DIOCESE  OF  PORTLAND 259 

DIOCESE  OF  SPRINGFIELD 286 

CONCLUSION 333 


SKETCHES, 


ETC.,    ETC. 


THE  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION 
OF  AMERICA. 

THE  continent  of  America  includes  an  extent  of 
territory  equal  to  one  half  of  the  continents  of  Eu- 
rope, Asia,  and  Africa,  and  constitutes  about  three 
tenths  of  the  dry  land  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  It 
is  bounded  east  and  west  by  the  great  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  Oceans.  On  the  west,  the  Pacific  separates  it 
from  Asia,  and  at  Behring's  Straits,  in  the  north,  the 
two  continents  come  almost  in  contact.  On  the  north 
is  the  Arctic  Ocean,  divided  by  huge  frozen  islands 
into  bays  and  inlets.  On  the  east,  the  Atlantic  sep- 
arates it  from  Europe  and  Africa.  On  the  south,  it 
presents  a  storm-beaten  cape  to  the  expanse  of  the 
Southern  or  Antarctic  Ocean. 

When,  in  the  designs  of  Divine  Providence,  the 
time  had  arrived  for  opening  a  communication  be- 
tween the  two  worlds,  a  man  appeared,  who  was 
born  for  the  achievement  of  discoveries  of  incalcu- 
lable importance  to  mankind,  as  implied  by  the  name 
recorded  at  his  baptism  :  Christopher  Columbus  —  the 

7 

\ 


8 

Christbearing  Dove.  He  was  born  at  Cogoleto,  in 
the  republic  of  Genoa,  in  1446.  His  father's  name 
was  Domingo  Colombo,  a  citizen  of  the  same 
republic. 

Having  cultivated  the  sciences  at  a  tender  age,  and 
made  such  rapid  progress  in  the  Latin  language  and 
the  rudiments  of  the  mathematics,  Christopher  was 
soon  enabled  to  understand  the  cosmographic  writers, 
of  the  reading  of  which  he  was  particularly  fond. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen,  he  returned  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pavia  to  his  native  country.  He  learned 
navigation,  and  pursued  it  three  and  twenty  years 
successively,  with  such  zeal  and  perseverance,  that 
he  remained  at  sea  for  a  long  time,  in  order  to  gratify 
his  unbounded  and  praiseworthy  curiosity.  He  made 
voyages  on  the  seas  frequented  by  Europeans,  full  of 
desire  to  sail  farther  than  other  navigators  had  ven- 
tured. He  sailed  through  the  Northern  Ocean,  a 
hundred  leagues  beyond  Iceland,  the  Ultima  Thule, 
or  the  boundary  of  what  had  been  thought  navigable 
up  to  that  day.  At  every  place  where  he  landed  he 
endeavored  to  open  a  trade  with  the  natives,  in  order 
to  obtain  information  of  these  countries.  He  com- 
pared the  knowledge  he  acquired  in  this  way  with 
the  accounts  then  in  existence  relative  to  those  re- 
gions, and  enriched  them  with  his  own  observations. 
In  this  judicious  practice,  he  was  aided  by  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  sciences  auxiliary  to  navigation,  —  the 
use  of  sound  astronomy,  extensive  geographic  learn- 
ing, and  an  able  hand  in  delineating  maps,  and  in 
making  spheres  and  other  instruments. 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  9 

The  western  world  still  unknown,  the  intercourse 
between  Europe  and  India  was  carried  on  through 
the  Red  Sea.  The  spirit  of  maritime  discovery  re- 
ceived its  first  impulse  from  the  kings  of  Castile. 
These  monarchs,  in  following  up  their  conquests  and 
settlements  in  the  Canary  Islands,  led  the  way  to 
further  navigations  into  the  Atlantic,  in  search  of  new 
islands  in  the  west.  Hence,  also,  arose  the  traffic 
with  the  African  coast,  and  the  splendor  and  wealth 
of  the  city  of  Seville  ;  and  hence  the  extraordinary 
zeal  for  nautical  adventure  along  the  coast  of  Andalu- 
sia. The  Portuguese,  emulous  of  the  glory  of  their 
neighbors,  entered  into  the  same  career,  and  pursued 
it  with  such  vigor  and  perseverance  as  to  outstrip 
their  precursors,  by  improving  naval  science  and  ex- 
tending their  commerce  in  a  surprising  manner. 
Their  ships  sailed  along  the  western  coast  of  Africa, 
and  at  length  reached  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
Curiosity  received  a  new  stimulus  from  these  discov- 
eries ;  the  boundless  ocean  of  the  west  offered  a  wide 
field  for  speculation ;  the  time  had  arrived  for  the 
achievement  of  the  grand  enterprise,  —  the  knowl- 
edge of  a  New  World. 

On  Friday,  August  3,  1492,  when  the  Catholic 
religion  alone  flourished  throughout  the  world  ;  when 
nought  was  known  or  heard  of  Episcopalians,  Uni- 
tarians, Calvinists,  Baptists,  Methodists,  Shakers, 
Quakers,  Spiritists,  or  other  modern  sectaries  ;  under 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  Catholic,  encouraged  by 
Fray  Juan  Perez,  Guardian  of  the  Convent  of  La 
Rabida,  at  the  little  seaport  town  of  Palos,  in  Anda- 


IO  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

lusia,  the  scene  was  interesting  to  behold! — where 
faith  was  kneeling  to  ask  protection  ;  where  confi- 
dence was  drawing  new  strength  from  devotion  to 
God  and  Mary ;  where  the  adventurers,  their  com- 
mander at  their  head,  were  preparihg,  by  Confession 
and  Holy  Communion,  to  enter,  like  Christian  men, 
upon  the  perilous  undertaking. 

The  mass  over,  out  from  the  church,  grave,  reso- 
lute, and  calm,  walked  the  Admiral  at  the  head  of  his 
crew.  A  few  moments  were  allowed  for  farewells. 
Then  the  brief  orders  were  given,  and  the  sailors,  to 
the  number  of  one  hundred  and  twenty,  entering  the 
boats,  rowed  out  to  their  respective  vessels,  the  lar- 
gest of  which  was  named  Santa  Maria,  the  second 
the  Pinta,  and  the  third  Nina. 

Then  the  report  of  the  culverin  sounded  from  the 
bows,  and  the  standard  of  Castile  swung  out  to  the 
breeze  from  the  peak  of  the  SANTA  MARIA  ;  and 
the  crew  cheered,  and  the  crowd  on  shore  responded, 
as  the  Admiral  stepped  on  board.  A  few  moments 
more  and  the  anchors  were  weighed,  the  yards  were 
trimmed,  the  sails  filled,  and  the  flotilla  stood  out  to 
.sea. 

Christopher  Columbus  thus  committed  himself  to 
an  ocean,  whose  bounds  were  unknown,  and  steered 
his  course  directly  to  the  west.  Every  schoolboy  is 
familiar  with  the  scenes  and  incidents  that  daily  and 
nightly  took  place  on  the  decks  of  the  little  vessels, 
in  which  the  heroic  Admiral  and  his  men  sailed  the 
trackless  sea.  Matin  and  vesper  song  alternated  with 
the  murmur  of  the  wind  and  the  sea,  and  when  the 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  II 

Atlantic  tempests  threatened  to  sink  the  frail  crafts, 
the  terror-stricken  crew  would  beseech  the  Star  of 
the  seas  to  shine  out  upon  the  storm-riven  ocean  and 
guide  them  safely,  for  compass  failed,  and  no  sun,  or 
moon,  or  stars  illumined  their  darkened  path. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  October  they  breathed 
a  fresh  and  odoriferous  air,  such  as  is  felt  at  Seville 
in  April.  Every  moment  exhibited  fresh  marks  of 
the  neighborhood  of  land  ;  and  the  soundings,  the 
clouds,  the  varying  winds,  and  other  infallible  appear- 
ances revived  their  drooping  spirits.  On  the  evening 
of  the  nth  they  were  all  transported  with  joy,  when 
they  discovered  a  green  rush,  a  kind  of  fish  that  is 
usually  found  among  the  rocks ;  a  small  plank,  a 
cane,  a  stick  artificially  worked,  a  grassy  turf,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  wafted  from  the  shore,  and 
a  thorn-bush,  bearing  red  berries.  When  the  night 
approached^  and  Columbus  was  persuaded  that  they 
were  near  land,  he  assembled  the  crew,  and  reminded 
them  of  the  unspeakable  obligations  they  were  under 
to  Almighty  God,  who  had  granted  them  such  favor- 
able weather,  and  who,  notwithstanding  their  mur- 
murs and  despondency,  had  not  deserted  them  till 
He  had  conducted  them  to  the  great  object  of  their 
adventurous  voyage.  About  ten  o'clock  at  night,  as 
he  was  making  observations  with  his  usual  attention, 
on  the  quarter-deck,  he  saw  a  light,  somewhat  like  a 
torch,  carried  from  one  place  to  another.  At  first  he 
called  Pedro  Gutierrez,  a  royal  page,  and  afterwards 
the  superintendent,  Rodrigo  Sanchez,  who  saw  it 
likewise.  It  was  remarked  that  this  light  rose,  sunk, 


12  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

vanished,  and  instantly  appeared  again ;  it  was  con- 
cluded, therefore,'  that  it  was  carried  by  hand. 

Near  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  land  was  descried 
by  the  Pinta,  at  about  two  leagues  distance.  The 
captain  of  the  Pinta  communicated  the  joyful  news 
by  the  discharge  of  guns.  The  ships  came  together, 
and  as  soon  as  it  was  broad  daylight,  a  flat  and  pleas- 
ant island  appeared  in  view,  full  of  limpid  rivulets, 
and  abundance  of  green  bushes.  This  was  one  of 
the  Bahama  Islands.  The  crews  were  filled  with  the 
liveliest  transports  of  joy  ;  the  Admiral  lifted  up  his 
heart  and  eyes  to  heaven,  and  poured  forth  ejacula- 
tions of  thanks  and  praise  to  God.  The  whole  crew 
joined  in  the  Te  Deum  Laudamus,  which  he  in- 
toned ;  and  as  soon  as  they  had  paid  their  early  vows 
to  the  Divine  Author  of  all  blessings,  they  gave  them- 
selves up  to  joy  and  congratulations. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  soon  as  the  vessels  had  reached 
the  wished-for  shore,  they  landed,  fell  on  the  ground, 
kissed  it,  bedewed  it  with  tears  of  joy,  and  repeated 
their  thanks  to  the  Blessed  and  Adorable  Trinity,  the 
Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  Columbus 
then  rose  from  his  knees,  and  with  a  loud  voice,  pro- 
nounced the  word  Salvador,  as  the  name  of  the 
island,  and  as  a  testimony  that  he  dedicated  the  first 
of  his  discoveries  to  our  Adorable  Saviour. 

Having  passed  three  days  at  St.  Salvador,  he  shaped 
his  course  to  another  island,  which  seemed  to  be 
larger,  and  about  ten  leagues  to  the  west.  He  there 
cast  anchor,  and  took  possession  of  it,  by  the  name 
of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Conception. 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  13 

Thus  did  the  great  Columbus,  —  the  Christbearing 
Dove,  —  the  pious  and  devoted  son  of  the  Church, 
consecrate  to  Jesus  and  Mary  the  consummation  of 
all  his  toils,  the  first  of  his  discoveries  in  the  New 
World.  The  prayer  of  Columbus  on  reaching  San 
Salvador,  preserved  by  Washington  Irving,  evinces 
the  humble  and  reverent  spirit  in  which  the  great 
event  was,  as  all  things  should  be,  consecrated  to  God. 

u  Domine  Deus,  Eeterne  et  omnipotens,  sacro  tuo 
verbo  coclum  et  terram  et  mare  creasti ;  benedicatur 
et  glorificetur  Nomen  tuum,  laudetur  tua  majestas 
qua?  dignita  est  per  humilem  servum  tuum  ut  ejus 
sacrum  Nomen  agnoscatur  et  pra?dicetur  in  hac  altera 
mundi  parte." 

"  O  Lord,  eternal  and  omnipotent  God,  Thou  hast, 
by  Thy  holy  word,  created  the  heavens,  the  earth, 
and  the  sea  ;  blessed  and  glorified  be  Thy  Name  ; 
praised  be  Thy  Majesty,  who  hast  deigned  that,  by 
means  of  Thy  unworthy  servant,  Thy  sacred  Name 
should  be  acknowledged  and  made  known  in  this 
new  quarter  of  the  globe."  —  Irving:  Columbus, 
i.  156. 

Upon  the  return  of  Columbus,  March  15,  1493, 
after  .the  accomplishment  of  the  grand  momentous 
enterprise,  several  of  the  European  nations  fitted  out 
small  fleets  to  sail  to  the  continent  of  North  America, 
and  as  early  as  1517  the  English,  French,  Spanish, 
and  Portuguese  had  so  far  made  their  discoveries  in 
the  New  World  useful,  that  they  had  established  a 


14  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

successful  fishery  at  Newfoundland,  in  which  they 
had  fifty-seven  vessels  engaged.* 

In  the  latter  part  of  1523,  Francis  I.,  of  France,  a 
monarch  deeply  captivated  with  the  love  of  glory, 
fitted  out  a  squadron  of  four  ships,  the  command  of 
which  he  gave  to  Giovanni  Verazzani,  a  Florentine 
navigator  of  great  skill  and  celebrity.  Soon  after  the 
vessels  had  sailed,  three  of  them  were  so  damaged  in 
a  storm  that  they  were  compelled  to  return ;  but 
Verazzani  proceeded  in  a  single  vessel,  with  a  deter- 
mination to  make  new  discoveries.  Sailing  from 
Madeira  in  a  westerly  direction,  he  reached  the  coast 
of  America,  probably  in  the  latitude  of  Wilmington, 
North  Carolina. 

After  exploring  the  coast  for  some  distance,  north 
and  south,  without  being  able  to  find  a  harbor,  he 
was  obliged  to  send  a  boat  on  shore  to  open  an  inter- 
course with  the  natives.  The  savages  at  first  fled, 
but  soon  recovering  their  confidence,  they  entered 
into  an  amicable  traffic  with  the  strangers. 

At  one  place,  by  the  desire  of  Verazzani,  a  young 
sailor  had  undertaken  to  swim  to  land,  and  accost 
the  natives ;  but  when  he  saw  the  crowds  which 
thronged  the  beach,  he  repented  of  his  purpose,  and, 
although  within  a  few  yards  of  the  landing-place,  his 
courage  failed,  and  he  attempted  to  turn  back.  At 
this  moment  the  water  only  reached  his  waist ;  but 

*  For  the  early  exploration  of  the  southern  portion  of 
America,  and  the  missionaries  in  Mexico,  Florida,  Texas, 
and  California,  see  J.  G.  Shea's  History  of  Spanish  Mis- 
sions, from  1529  to  1854. 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF   AMERICA.  15 

overcome  with  terror  and  exhaustion,  he  had  scarcely 
strength  to  cast  his  presents  and  trinkets  upon  the 
beach,  when  a  wave  threw  him  senseless  on  the 
shore.  The  savages  ran  immediately  to  his  assist- 
ance, took  him  up  in  their  arms,  and  carried  him  a 
short  distance  from  the  sea.  Great  was  his  terror, 
when,  upon  coming  to  his  senses,  he  found  himself 
in  their  power.  Stretching  his  hands  towards  the 
ship,  he  uttered  piercing  cries  ;  to  which  the  natives 
replied  by  loud  yells,  intending,  as  he  afterwards 
found,  to  reassure  him.  They  then  carried  him  to 
the  foot  of  a  hill,  stripped  him,  turned  his  face  to  the 
sun,  and  kindled  a  large  fire  near  him. 

He  was  now  fully  impressed  with  the  horrible 
thought  that  they  were  about  to  sacrifice  him  to  the 
sun.  His  companions  on  board,  unable  to  render 
him  any  assistance,  were  of  the  same  opinion  ;  they 
thought,  to  use  Verazzani's  own  words,  "  that  the 
natives  were  going  to  roast  and  eat  him."  Their 
fears,  however,  were  soon  turned  to  gratitude  and 
astonishment ;  the  savages  dried  his  clothes,  warmed 
him,  and  showed  him  every  mark  of  kindness,  caress- 
ing and  patting  his  white  skin  with  apparent  sur- 
prise. They  then  dressed  him,  conducted  him  to  the 
beach,  tenderly  embraced  him,  and,  pointing  to  the 
vessel,  removed  to  a  little  distance,  to  show  that  he 
vvas  at  liberty  to  return  to  his  friends. 

Proceeding  north,  Verazzani  landed,  probably  near, 
what  is  now  the  city  of  New  York.  Continuing  his 
journey,  he  entered,  it  is  supposed,  the  haven  of 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  where  he  found  the  natives 


l6  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

liberal,  friendly,  and  confiding,  and  the  country  the 
richest  he  had  yet  seen. 

Verazzani  proceeded  still  further  north,  and  ex- 
plored the  coast  as  far  as  Newfoundland ;  but  he 
found  the  natives  of  the  northern  regions  hostile  and 
jealous,  and  unwilling  to  traffic  except  for  weapons 
of  war.  He  gave  to  the  whole  region  the  name  of 
La  Nouvelle  France,  and  took  possession  of  it  in  the 
name  of  his  sovereign. 

The  celebrated  Jacques  Carder  succeeded  Veraz- 
zani. He  explored  the  north-east  coast  carefully,  and, 
passing  through  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle,  traversed  the 
great  Gulf  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  subsequently 
went  to  Gaspe  Bay,  where  he  erected  a  cross  thirty 
feet  high,  with  a  shield  bearing  the  three  fleurs-de-lis 
of  France,  thus  taking  possession  in  the  name  of 
Francis  the  First. 

In  his  second  voyage  he  entered  the  great  river  of 
Canada,  which  he  named  the  St.  Lawrence,  because 
he  began  to  explore  it  on  the  festival  of  that  martyr. 
Continuing  his  voyage,  he  moored  his  vessels  safely 
in  the  river  of  St.  Charles,  which  he  named  "  Port  de 
Ste.  Croix,"  or  Port  of  the  Holy  Cross.  He  here 
received  a  visit  from  the  chief,  "  The  Lord  of  Can- 
ada," who  lived  at  Stadacona,  attended  by  five  hun- 
dred warriors,  who  came  to  welcome  the  strangers. 

Having  heard  that  there  existed,  far  up  the  river; 
a  large  settlement  called  Hochelaga,  he  determined 
to  advance  in  quest  of  it.  Previously  to  his  setting 
out  he  caused  his  men  to  let  ofF  twelve  cannons, 
charged  with  balls,  into  the  wood  near  them.  "  At 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  17 

whose  noise,"  says  Hakluyt,  an  old  historian,  "  they 
were  greatly  astonished  and  amazed,  for  they  thought 
that  heaven  had  fallen  upon  them,  and  put  themselves 
to  flight,  howling,  crying,  and  shrieking." 

Leaving  his  vessels,  he  proceeded  in  two  boats  and 
the  pinnace  as  far  as  Lake  St.  Peter,  where,  on  ac- 
count of  the  shallowness  of  the  water,  he  was  obliged 
to  leave  the  pinnace,  and  proceed  in  the  boats.  Here 
they  met  with  five  hunters,  "  who,"  says  Cartier, 
"  freely  and  familiarly  came  to  our  boats  without  any 
fear,  as  if  we  had  even  been  brought  up  together." 
Everywhere  he  seems  to  have  been  received  with 
kindness,  for  the  chief  of  the  district  of  the  Hochelai, 
now  the  Richelieu,  paid  him  a  visit,  and  presented 
him  with  one  of  his  own  children,  about  seven  years 
of  age,  whom  he  afterwards  visited  while  Cartier 
was  wintering  at  St.  Croix. 

Delighted  with  his  journey,  Cartier  proceeded,  and 
soon  came  to  Hochelaga,  which  he  found  to  be  a  for- 
tified town,  on  a  beautiful  island,  under  the  shade  of 
a  mountain.  On  his  landing,  he  was  met  by  more 
than  a  thousand  of  the  natives,  who  received  him 
with  every  demonstration  of  joy  and  hospitality.  He 
was  delighted  with  the  view  from  the  mountain, 
which  he  named  Mount  Royal,  which  time  has 
changed  to  Montreal. 

The  inhabitants  were  of  the  Huron  tribe,  and  seem 
to  have  regarded  Cartier  as  one  of  a  superior  order, 
as  they  brought  to  him  their  sick,  decrepit,  and  aged, 
with  an  evident  expectation  that  he  would  heal  them. 
Touched  by  this  display  of  confiding  simplicity,  he 

2 


l8  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

did  all  he  could  to  soothe  their  minds.  The  French 
historians  relate  that  he  made  the  sign  of  the  Cross 
upon  the  sick,  distributed  Agnus  Dei's  amongst  them, 
recited  with  a  loud  voice  the  sufferings  and  death  of 
the  Saviour,  and  prayed  fervently  with  them. 

On  his  return  to  his  boats,  he  was  accompanied  by 
a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants  to  the  landing-place 
below  St.  Mary's  current.  They  even  carried  on 
their  shoulders  some  of  his  men  who  were  fatigued. 
They  appeared  to  be  grieved  at  the  shortness  of  their 
stay,  and  followed  their  course  along  the  banks  of  the 
river  with  signs  of  kindly  farewell. 

Cartier,  having  returned  to  France,  made  no  sub- 
sequent voyage.  He  died  soon  after  his  return  home, 
having  sacrificed  health  and  fortune  in  the  cause  of 
discovery.  He  evidently  was  a  man  firm  in  the  faith, 
a  devoted  Catholic,  and  piously  disposed,  as  we  learn 
from  the  festivals  and  saints'  names  he  gave  to  his 
discoveries,  wherever  made. 

Sieur  de  Champlain,  the  distinguished  naval  offi- 
cer, who  was  the  destined  founder  of  the  principal 
French  settlement  in  the  north,  was,  in  1603,  the 
worthy  successor  of  Cartier.  His  Catholic,  Christian 
character  is  learned  from  those  memorable  words 
which  history  records :  "  The  salvation  of  a  single 
soul  is  worth  more  than  the  conquest  of  an  empire, 
and  kings  should  seek  to  extend  their  dominions  in 
countries  where  idolatry  reigns,  only  to  cause  their 
submission  to  Jesus  Christ."  *  He  undertook  his 

*  The  first  words  of  the  Sieur  de  Champlain's  voyages. 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  19 

toils  and  labors  with  patience,  in  order  "  to  plant  in 
this  country  the  standard  of  the  Cross,  and  to  teach 
the  knowledge  of  God,  and  the  glory  of  His  holy 
Name,  desiring  to  increase  charity  for  his  unfortunate 
creatures."  * 

Thinking  that  he  would  "  commit  a  great  fault  if 
he  employed  no  means  of  bringing  the  savages  to  the 
knowledge  of  God,"  he  earnestly  "  sought  out  some 
good  Religious  who  would  have  zeal  and  affection 
for  God's  glory."  Such  as  these  are  always  discov- 
erable by  those  who  are  really  in  want  of  them,  and 
Champlain  soon  found  them,  —  men  "  who  were 
borne  away  by  holy  affection,  who  burned  to  make 
this  voyage,  if  so,  by  God's  grace,  they  might  gain 
some  fruit,  and  might  plant  in  these  lands  the  stan- 
dard of  Jesus  Christ,  with  fixed  resolution  to  live, 
and,  if  need  were,  to  die,  for  His  sacred  Name."  f 
So,  when  the  ship  is  ready,  we  naturally  expect  the 
next  record,  that  "  each  of  us  examined  himself,  and 
purged  himself  of  his  sins,  by  penitence  and  confes- 
sion, so  best  to  say  adieu  to  France,  and  to  place 
himself  in  a  state  of  grace,  that  each  might  be  con- 
scientiously free  to  give  himself  up  into  the  keeping 
of  God,  and  to  the  billows  of  a  vast  and  perilous 
sea."  J 

When  the  voyage  was  thus  undertaken,  what  won- 

*  "Planter  en  ce  pays  1'estendart  de  la  Croix  et  leur  en- 
seigner  la  cognoissance  de  Dieu  et  gloire  de  Son  Sainct 
Norn,  estant  nostre  desir  d'augmenter  la  charite  envers  ses 
miserables  creatures." — Voyagesetdecouverturesdepuis  1615. 

t  Voyages  depuis  1615,  p.  3.  J  Ibid.  p.  8. 


2O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

der  that  we  find,  along  the  first  discovered  coasts, 
names  so  purely  Catholic  :  St.  Mary's  Bay,  St.  Mary's 
Isle,  St.  Mary's  River ;  that  Montreal  is  called  Vitte 
Marie;  that  the  first  grant  of  land  from  the  Due  de 
Ventadour  to  the  Jesuit  fathers  is  the  seigneurie  of 
Our  Lady  of  Angels ;  and  that  then,  by  Mary's 
Lake,  and  missions  of  Assumption  and  Annuncia- 
tion, we  sweep  away  westward  to  the  mysterious 
river  of  the  Conception? 

Thus  were  Catholics  the  first  discoverers  of  Amer- 
ica, the  first  to  announce  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation 
to  the  red  men  of  the  wilderness. 

We  do  not  wish  to  draw  any  invidious  distinction, 
but  we  do  wish  the  truth  of  impartial  history  to  be 
known.  With  rare  exceptions,  all  the  writers  of  our 
so-called  American  histories  have  ignored  many  im- 
portant facts,  and  the  readers  of  these  histories  would 
conclude  that  America  had  been  explored,  built  up, 
and  developed  by  Protestants,  and  that  our  free  insti- 
tutions are  due,  solely  and  entirely,  to  Protestant 
minds  and  Protestant  love  of  liberty  !  whereas,  who 
but  our  Catholic  ancestors  were  the  first  to  enthrone 
liberty  on  the  European  continent?  Who  formed 
the  republics  of  Venice  and  Genoa,  of  Switzerland 
and  San  Marino,  long  before  the  religious  persuasions 
of  those  who  revile  and  misrepresent  our  creed  had 
either  a  name  or  existence?  And  were  they  not  the 
first  who,  in  this  western  hemisphere,  formed  a  con- 
stitution in  the  colony  of  Maryland,  in  1632,  which 
proclaimed  that  she  alone  was  the  beacon  rock  of 
civil  and  religious  freedom  ?  Let  the  friends  of  civil 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF   AMERICA.  21 

and  religious  liberty  read  the  oath  of  the  governor  of 
this  colony.  Here  it  is ;  and  it  is  the  best  legacy 
which  can  be  bequeathed  to  generations  yet  unborn  : 
u  I  will  not,  by  myself  or  another,  directly  or  indi- 
rectly, trouble,  molest,  or  discountenance  any  person 
professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  for  or  in  respect 
of  religion  ;  I  will  make  no  difference  of  persons  in 
conferring  offices,  favors,  or  rewards  for  or  in  re- 
spect of  religion,  but  merely  as  they  should  be  found 
faithful  and  well  deserving,  and  endowed  with  moral 
virtues  and  abilities.  My  aim  shall  be  public  unity  ; 
and  if  any  person  or  officer  shall  molest  any  person 
professing  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  on  account  of 
his  religion,  I  will  protect  the  person  molested,  and 
punish  the  offender." 

And  regarding  the  form  of  our  government,  and  its 
free  institutions,  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Mag- 
na  Carta,  that  embraces  all  the  essential  principles 
of  American  liberty,  chief  among  which  are  the 
right  of  trial  by  jury,  and  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus, 
and,  in  fact,  our  bill  of  rights,  were  planned  and 
drawn  up  by  the  Catholic  barons  of  England,  and 
enforced,  centuries  before  modern  isms  had  an  ex- 
istence. 

CATHOLICISM  IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  POPULAR  IN- 
STITUTIONS. 

In  connection  with  this  brief  sketch  of  the  discov- 
ery and  exploration  of  America,  we  would  add  a 
few  words  on  Catholicism  and  its  polity,  spoken  as 
long  ago  as  1832,  by  that  illustrious  scholar  and  di- 


22  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

vine,  Most  Rev.  Francis  Patrick  Kenrick,  D.  D.,  on 
those  words  of  our  Saviour,  "  Render  to  Csesar  the 
things  that  are  Caasar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that 
are  God's."  (Matt.  xxii.  21.) 

In  a  countiy  like  this,  observes  the  great  divine, 
enjoying  free  and  popular  institutions,  wherein  the 
most  elevated  man  is  but  the  chief  servant  of  the 
people,  it  might  seem  superfluous  to  urge  the  former 
part  of  this  divine  precept.  Here  no  Caesar  sways 
the  imperial  sceptre,  or  exacts  from  subject  millions 
subsidies  to  sustain  his  power,  and  increase  the  pomp 
of  majesty.  But  though  the  words  of  the  Redeemer 
regard  Caesarean  authority,  they  imply  a  maxim  of 
order  applicable  to  society  under  every  form,  namely, 
that  the  established  government  should  be  respected 
and  supported.  They  contain  no  peculiar  sanction 
of  imperial  domination  ;  they  warrant  no  abuse  of 
power ;  but  merely  declare  that  our  duties  towards 
the  civil  authorities  may  be  discharged  without 
offence  to  God,  or  interference  with  religious  obliga- 
tions. St.  Augustin*  beautifully  observes  that  the 
Church,  or  City  of  God,  is  composed  of  men  of  all 
nations,  with  perfect  independence  of  the  various 
forms  of  civil  polity.  To  these  she  is  indifferent ; 
and  with  wise  condescension,  she  respects  and  sanc- 
tions the  national  usages  and  institutions,  however 
diversified,  wheresoever  they  come  not  into  collision 
with  the  divine  doctrines  of  her  Founder,  or  the  gen- 
eral interests  of  piety.  Thus  she  adapts  her  children 

*  City  of  God,  lib.  xvii. 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  23 

to  every  state  of  society,  and  enables  them  to  coalesce 
with  men  of  every  character,  uniting  and  cementing 
all  hearts  in  all  things  whereby  social  order  and  hap- 
piness are  promoted.  Others  may  investigate  ab- 
stract questions  in  regard  to  the  excellence  of  partic- 
ular systems  of  civil  polity,  the  immediate  origin  of 
power,  and  the  limits  wherein  it  is  circumscribed. 
She  attends  to  practical  lessons,  applicable  to  estab- 
lished order,  and  teaches  the  exercise  of  those  virtues 
which,  under  every  form  of  government,  are  calcu- 
lated to  render  men  good  and  happy.  Whether  pop- 
ular choice  confer  a  presidential  chair,  or  ambition 
grasp  a  crown,  or  victory  brandish  the  sword  of 
power,  she  regards  the  vicissitudes  of  human  things 
as  subordinate  to  Divine  Providence,  and  considers 
every  just  exercise  of  established  authority  as  sanc- 
tioned by  Him  from  whom  all  power  emanates. 
"  For  there  is  no  power  but  from  God,  and  those  that 
are,  are  ordained  of  God."  (Rom.  xiii.) 

It  has  been  alleged,  that  the  Church  is  essentially 
allied  to  monarchical  governments,  and  that  her  own 
constitution  is  an  absolute  monarchy.  Others  have 
maintained  that  she  is,  at  best,  a  monarchy  tempered 
with  aristocracy ;  while  some  have  discovered  her 
principles  to  be  highly  democratic.  The  Church  is 
evidently  distinct  in  her  constitution  from  every  form 
of  civil  polity,  and  yet  bearing  characters  similar  to 
each,  and  combining  all  their  perfections.  She  is  a 
kingdom,  though  not  of  this  world,  and  meek  and 
lowly  is  her  sovereign.  The  vicegerent  of  Christ, 
however  high  his  prerogatives,  lords  it  not  over  our 


24  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

faith,  and  can  do  nothing  against  the  truth,  but  for 
the  truth.  The  power  which  the  Lord  has  given 
him  is  for  edification,  not  for  destruction.  "  The 
kings  of  the  Gentiles  lord  it  over  them,  and  they  that 
have  power  over  them  are  called  beneficent ;  but  you 
not  so,"  said  our  Saviour  to  his  apostles.  "  But  he 
who  is  the  greatest  among  you,  let  him  be  as  the 
least ;  and  he  that  is  the  leader,  as  he  that  serveth." 
(Luke  xxii.  25,  26.) 

The  dignitaries  of  the  Catholic  Church  are  not 
those  whom  descent  from  renowned  ancestors  has 
ennobled,  without  personal  merit ;  but  they  are  the 
children  alike  of  the  mechanic  or  of  the  prince, 
whom  virtue  has  exalted.  Their  lineage  is  derived 
from  the  Apostles,  by  the  divine  rite  of  ordination. 
Their  honors  impose  on  them  the  duty  of  rivalling 
their  virtues  ;  and  they  are  charged  to  communicate 
their  powers  to  those  only  whom  merit  shall  have 
distinguished.  The  Church  may  be  styled  a  Repub- 
lic, as  St.  Augustin  observes,*  for  the  obvious  reason 
that  she  is  intended  for  the  true  happiness  of  the 
people ;  but  we  must  never  forget  that  Christ  is  her 
founder  and  her  ruler,  and  that  the  powers  of  her 
ministers  are  derived  from  Him  who  alone  could 
communicate  them.  "  We  are  of  God."  "  We  are 
ambassadors  for  Christ,  God,  as  it  were,  exhorting 
by  us."  "  Let  a  man  so  look  upon  us  as  the  ministers 

*  "  Vera  autem  justitia  non  est,  nisi  in  ea  republica,  cujus 
conditor  rectorque  Christus  est:  si  etiam  ipsam  rempubli- 
cam  placet  dicere,  quoniam  earn  rem  populi  esse,  negare 
non  possumus."  —  Aug.  1.  ii.  de  Civ.  Dei,  c.  21. 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  25 

of  Christ,  and   the   dispensers   of  the   mysteries   of 
God."     (i  John  iv.  6  ;  2  Cor.  v.  20  ;   i  Cor.  iv.  i.) 

The  congeniality  of  the  constitution  of  the  Church 
with  free  institutions,  and  the  consequent  aptitude  of 
her  members  for  the  rational  exercise  of  the  rights  of 
free  citizens,  may  be  easily  discovered  on  compar- 
ison. The  principle  of  equality  is  justly  regarded  as 
the  basis  of  republican  institutions.  Every  man  who 
has  breathed  the  vital  air  in  this  happy  government, 
is  equal,  in  the  eyes  of  the  law,  and  entitled  to  the 
privileges  of  citizenship.  The  child  of  the  cottager 
and  the  king  were  equally  recognized  as  creatures  of 
the  same  God,  formed  to  His  image  and  likeness, 
and  when  born  anew  to  the  baptismal  font,  were  en- 
titled to  the  same  Christian  privileges.  The  facti- 
tious distinctions  whereby  society  marks  her  mem- 
bers, from  the  peasant  to  the  sovereign,  though  re- 
spected by  the  Church,  which  always  regards  order, 
give  no  prerogatives  to  the  great  of  this  world,  in  the 
solemn  rites  of  religion.  All  hear  the  same  Gospel, 
all  kneel  before  the  same  altar ;  and  all  participate 
of  the  same  sacraments.  The  lowliest  amongst  the 
faithful,  in  the  extremity  of  life,  summons  the  min- 
ister of  God  to  his  bed  of  sorrow,  to  dispense  to  him 
the  sanctifying  mysteries  ;  and  the  summons  is  obeyed 
equally  as  if  the  lord  of  vast  dominions  had  sought 
the  succors  of  religion.  Every  office  and  dignity  of 
the  Church  is  accessible  to  all  her  children,  without 
any  distinction  but  that  which  arises  from  merit. 
The  youth  who,  in  the  humblest  walks  of  society, 
toiled  for  a  scanty  subsistence,  and  who  was  indebted 


20  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

for  his  education  to  the  bounty  of  some  friend  to  tal- 
ent and  virtue,  may  in  mature  age  rise  to  the  altar  of 
the  living  God,  or  even  sit  among  the  princes  of  his 
people ;  nay,  he  may  rise  to  the  pinnacle  of  Church 
authority,  and  govern  an  empire  far  greater  than  ever 
owned  the  power  of  the  Caesars.  Virtue,  not  birth, 
is  with  us  the  true  title  to  distinction.  Let  republics 
boast  of  greater  equality  than  this. 

The  elective  system  is  another  feature  in  popular 
institutions.  It  is,  however,  even  in  several  States  of 
the  Union,  circumscribed  by  conditions  required  in 
the  voters ;  and  it  is,  in  many  instances,  confined  to 
the  representatives  and  chief  officers  of  the  people, 
whilst  a  far  greater  number  of  inferior  offices  are 
created  by  appointment.  The  Church,  from  her 
foundation,  under  the  absolute  sway  of  the  Caesars, 
cherished  the  principle  of  election.  St.  Chrysostom 
justly  remarks,  that  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles 
doubtless  possessed  the  power  of  filling  up  the  va- 
cancy in  the  apostolic  college,  by  appointing  one  to 
occupy  the  place  of  Judas  ;  but  that  through  a  spirit 
of  condescension  and  conciliation,  he  allowed  the  as- 
sembled multitude  interference  in  the  appointment. 
In  the  same  spirit,  so  worthy  of  the  meekness  of  their 
Master,  the  twelve  bade  the  multitude  to  look  among 
them  for  seven  men  of  good  reputation,  wrhom  the 
Apostles  might  appoint  to  the  office  of  Deacons. 
The  power  and  right  strictly  belonged  to  the  apostolic 
college,  and  not  to  the  laity,  because  the  Apostles 
alone  had  been  sent  by  Him  to  whom  all  power  was 
given  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  It  was  discretionary 


THE    DISCOVERV    OF   AMERICA.  27 

with  them  to  make  the  appointment  without  the  in- 
terference of  others,  and  to  judge  of  the  qualifications 
of  those  who  might  be  presented;  but  it  was  in  no 
way  derogatory  from  their  high  authority  to  receive 
the  testimony  of  the  faithful  with  regard  to  the 
merits  of  the  candidate,  particularly  whilst  the  purest 
zeal  for  the  interests  of  religion  was  common  to  the 
great  body  of  believers.  Their  example  was  imitated 
by  their  successors  in  the  Christian  Prelacy,  and  to 
this  day  the  solemn  ceremonial  of  ordination  points 
out  the  wise  motives  that  determined  her  earliest  pas- 
tors to  adopt  a  system  so  conciliatory. 

The  elective  form  is  preserved  in  regard  to  the  dig- 
nity of  Bishop  in  many  portions  of  the  Church, 
wherein  the  clergy  elect  the  prelate  that  is  to  govern 
them,  or  the  Bishops  of  the  province  make  the  choice, 
dependent  on  the  sanction  of  the  Roman  Pontiff", 
The  highest  ecclesiastical  dignitary  is  chosen  by  the 
votes  of  two  thirds  of  the  College  of  Cardinals,  most 
solemnly  sworn  to  regard  only  the  general  good  of 
Christendom  in  the  choice  of  its  chief  ruler.  The 
many  precautions  that  are  taken  to  guard  their  integ- 
rity against  bias,  or  intrigue,  or  any  species  of  undue 
influence,  and  the  happy  results  of  the  election,  which, 
in  a  few  weeks,  generally  gives  a  Pontiff  of  exalted 
merit  to  the  Christian  world,  prove  the  freedom  and 
wisdom  of  the  system.  Elections,  therefore,  are  co- 
eval with  the  Church,  and  are  congenial  to  her  spirit 
of  conciliation. 

Deliberative  assemblies,  which  are  so  characteristic 
of  popular  institutions,  are  particularly  congenial  to 


28  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Christianity,  and  as  ancient  as  the  Church  herself. 
When  doubts  arose  among  some  of  the  first  profes- 
sors of  the  faith,  in  regard  to  the  necessity  of  exacting 
the  observance  of  the  Jewish  ceremonies  from  con- 
verted Gentiles,  the  dispute  was  decided  in  a  solemn 
assembly  convened  for  the  purpose.  "  The  Apostles 
and  ancients  came  together  to  consider  of  this  mat- 
ter." (Acts  xv.  6.)  The  advocates  of  both  opinions 
were  heard,  ere  Peter  arose  to  terminate  the  discus- 
sion, and  James  concurred  in  judgment ;  when  a 
decree  was  drawn  up  in  the  name  of  the  Apostles 
and  ancients,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
determining  the  controversy.  Subsequent  ages  were 
not  inattentive  to  the  precedent.  Each  Bishop  reg- 
ulated the  chief  affairs  of  his  diocese  in  the  assembly, 
and  with  counsel  of  his  brethren,  the  clergy,  over 
whom  he  presided.  The  Bishops  of  each  province 
semi-annually  assembled  to  deliberate  in  common  on 
the  means  of  promoting  truth  and  piety  throughout 
the  flocks  committed  to  their  charge ;  and  when  the 
doctrines  of  faith  were  assailed,  or  other  general  in- 
terests of  the  Christian  world  were  at  stake,  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  whole  Church  were  congregated 
to  testify  the  faith,  and  legislate  for  the  general  good 
of  Christendom.  The  tyranny  of  the  Caesars,  and 
the  fury  of  their  persecution,  could  not  entirely  pre- 
vent assemblies  so  congenial  to  Christianity,  and 
when  Rome  saw  her  Constantine  raise  the  victorious 
banner  of  the  cross,  Nice  soon  beheld  the  most  sub- 
lime spectacle  the  world  had  witnessed,  the  assembly 
of  three  hundred  and  eight  Pontiffs,  venerable  for 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  29 

their  learning,  sanctity,  and  sufferings,  all  concurring 
in  proclaiming  the  faith  of  the  universe,  the  Divinity 
of  the  Saviour  of  mankind. 

In  these  assemblies,  the  most  perfect  freedom  of 
discussion  is  admitted,  and  moderation  and  conde- 
scension mark  the  decisions,  which  generally  are 
made  with  unanimous  suffrage.  No  doctrine  is  de- 
lined,  unless,  on  examining  the  Scriptures,  and  con- 
sulting the  monuments  of  the  faith  of  preceding  ages, 
it  is  clearly  ascertained  to  belong  to  the  original  de- 
posit of  Revelation.  No  law  is  enacted,  except  such 
as  the  majority  deem  expedient  for  the  purity  of 
Christian  morals,  and  the  advancement  of  piety.  In 
them  we  have  the  freedom  and  moderation,  without 
the  instability,  of  popular  institutions.  Hence,  though 
the  government  of  the  Church  may  appear  absolute 
and  arbitrary  to  one  who  regards  the  high  powers 
of  her  functionaries,  it  will  be  found  to  be  moderate 
and  just,  since  the  canons,  or  laws  of  those  assem- 
blies, direct  and  restrict  each  Bishop  in  the  exercise 
of  his  authority,  so  that  he  is  scarcely  more  than  the 
executive  of  their  decrees. 

In  the  Religious  Orders,  which  the  Church  regards 
as  states  of  perfection,  we  discover  the  same  equality, 
the  same  elective  system,  the  same  deliberative  bod- 
ies, and  even  the  popular  and  democratic  principle 
of  rotation  in  office.  The  young  Noble  who  figured 
in  the  courts  of  Princes,  and  the  Monarch  himself 
who  directed  the  destinies  of  nations,  are,  after  their 
entrance  within  the  gates  of  the  cloister,  undistin- 
guished from  the  peasant  and  the  mechanic.  Their 


30  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

former  dress  and  decorations  are  exchanged  for  the 
simple  habit  worn  by  every  member  of  the  Institute. 
Their  titles  are  forgotten,  and  the  affectionate  appel- 
lation of  brother  is  alike  addressed  to  the  peasant 
and  the  noble.  An  Aloysius  of  Gonzaga,  and  a 
Francis  Borgia,  are  distinguished  in  religion,  not  by 
the  titles  and  honors  of  the  Princedom  or  Dukedom 
which  they  once  bore,  but  by  the  heroism  of  their 
virtue.  No  one  is  incorporated  in  the  Order,  or  ad- 
mitted to  the  solemn  profession,  unless  a  majority  of 
the  actual  members  approve  his  merit.  None  are 
elevated  to  the  most  responsible  offices,  unless  by  the 
suffrages  of  a  like  majority.  The  son  of  a  cottager 
may  be  chosen  to  govern  a  body  wherein  courtiers 
are  enrolled,  if  learning  and  virtue  ennoble  him. 
The  powers  of  the  Superiors  are  confined  within  the 
limits  of  the  rule  and  constitutions.  In  many  impor- 
tant affairs  they  need  the  consent  of  the  Chapter  or 
Council  of  the  Order,  wherein  the  majority  of  votes 
prevail.  A  term  is  likewise  fixed  to  the  duration  of 
their  authority.  Many  centuries  before  the  Amer- 
ican Constitution  was  framed,  the  humble  Francis  of 
Assisium  formed  the  rule,  that  the  General  of  the 
Order  should  be  chosen  for  the  term  of  four  years ; 
and  other  founders  of  religious  Institutes  have  added, 
that  after  their  re-election  for  a  second  term,  they 
should  not  be  capable  of  being  chosen  a  third  time, 
unless  all  danger  and  appearance  of  perpetuity  was 
removed  by  the  intervention  of  another  superior 
between  the  second  and  third  terms  of  service. 
Compare  these  provisions  with  those  of  the  Constitu- 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   AMERICA.  31 

tion  of  the  Union,  and  say  with  candor  whether  it 
might  not  be  conceived  that  its  framers,  those  States- 
men of  their  day,  had  borrowed  largely  from  our 
Religious  Institutions? 

In  thus  exhibiting  the  accordance  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Church  and  of  her  Institutes  with  that 
system  of  civil  polity  for  which  we  entertain  a  predi- 
lection, it  is  not  with  the  view  to  demonstrate  that 
she  is  a  democracy.  The  will  of  the  people  is  the 
immediate  source  and  supreme  law  of  democratic 
institutions  ;  the  will  of  Christ  our  Lord  is  the  source 
and  rule  of  all  Church  power.  The  truths  of  reli- 
gion must  emanate  from  the  unerring  wisdom  of  the 
Deity :  the  grace  whereby  the  souls  of  men  are  sanc- 
tified must  be  a  communication  of  divine  sanctity  and 
justice.  Scripture  is  positive  on  this  point.  "  How 
can  they  preach,  unless  they  be  sent?"  (Rom.  x.  15.) 
"  Neither  doth  any  man  take  the  honor  to  himself, 
but  he  that  is  called  by  God."  (Heb.  v.  4.)  Never- 
theless, the  power  thus  divinely  conferred  is  not  di- 
rected to  the  aggrandizement  of  the  individuals  who 
are  clothed  with  it,  but  to  the  welfare  of  the  whole 
Christian  Commonwealth.  We  possess  the  most 
striking  advantages  of  the  democratic  system,  with- 
out the  defects  that  are  insepai'able  from  every  system 
of  human  polity.  The  divine  Constitution  of  the 
Catholic  Church  exhibits  the  infinite  wisdom  of  her 
Founder,  combining,  in  an  admirable'  manner,  the 
excellences  of  each  system,  and  excluding  their  im- 
perfections. We  have  in  it  Monarchy  without  des- 
potism, Aristocracy  without  hereditary  entailment, 


32  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Democracy  without  fluctuation.  Our  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff is  but  the  servant  of  the  servants  of  God  ;  our 
Bishops  and  Priests  are  the  fond  fathers  of  their 
flock  ;  the  faithful  at  large  are  the  mystical  members 
of  Christ  our  Lord.  In  the  variety  of  grades  there 
is  nothing  to  flatter  human  pride,  or  debase  a  single 
member  of  this  great  family.  All  are  children  of  the 
same  God,  aspirants  to  the  same  bliss,  and  responsi- 
ble at  the  same  tribunal.  In  the  similarity  of  features 
which  the  whole  system  exhibits,  when  compared 
with  each  form  of  civil  government,  we  have  incen- 
tives to  the  discharge  of  our  social  duties  in  eveiy 
state  of  society. 

The  Catholic  Church  is  everywhere  the  friend  of 
human  happiness.  With  the  various  forms  of  civil 
polity  it  is  not  her  province  to  interfere.  To  none  of 
them  is  she  allied,  to  none  is  she  hostile.  Oppres- 
sion, tyranny,  injustice,  and  disorder  of  every  species, 
are  by  her  condemned ;  but  yet  she  mingles  not  in 
the  strife  when  an  indignant  nation  struggles  to  wrest 
from  the  tyrant's  grasp  the  sceptre  of  iron  wherewith 
he  rules  them.  All  the  calamities  of  licentiousness 
and  anarchy  present  themselves  to  her  mind  when 
she  sees  subjects  maddened  by  oppression  into  revolt ; 
and  whilst  she  hears  the  crash  of  falling  thrones,  her 
heart  bleeds,  not  so  much  through  sympathy  for  the 
misfortunes  of  the  great,  as  in  anticipation  of  the 
evils  which  the  licentious  may  perpetrate  in  the 
abused  name  of  Liberty. 

The  sceptre  of  the  Caesars,  which  the  early  Chris- 
tians were  taught  to  respect,  has  long  since  been 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    AMERICA.  33 

broken  ;  the  fragments  of  the  vast  Empire  have  been 
divided  among  Barbarian  conquerors.  Dynasty  after 
dynasty  has  passed  away.  Republics  have  risen, 
flourished,  decayed,  and  perished  :  but  the  Church 
still  remains,  the  imperishable  monument  of  the  wis- 
dom and  power  of  her  Divine  Founder.  The  gates 
of  Hell  have  not  prevailed  against  her. 
3 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND. 

CATHOLIC  France,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the 
Church,  zealous  for  the  growth  of  the  religion, 
which  through  so  many  changes  her  devoted  hie- 
rarchy had  so  tenderly  preserved,  claims,  and  with 
justice,  the  honor  of  the  permanent  foundations  of 
Catholicity  on  the  soil  of  what  we  at  present  know 
as  New  England.  The  sons  of  this  truly  Catholic 
Power  had,  long  before  the  settlements  of  Port  Royal 
and  Quebec,  sailed  along  the  rocky  coast  of  its  north- 
ern boundary ;  and  the  many  islands  and  headlands, 
graced  by  the  names  of  the  sainted  personages  of 
history,  bear  testimony  to  the  sterling  worth  and  true 
piety  of  the  commanders  of  the  several  expeditions, 
the  Cartiers,  the  Champlains,  and  others. 

In  1604,  Pierre  de  Guasts,  Sieur  de  Montz,  laid  the 
foundation  of  French  power  by  beginning  a  settle- 
ment on  St.  Croix  Island,  a  delightful  spot  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  of  Holy  Cross.  Here  Rev.  Nicho- 
las d'Aubri  erected  a  small  chapel,  the  ruins  of  which 
could  have  been  seen  till  within  a  short  time  since, 
and  from  its  rustic  altar  proclaimed  the  solemn  truths 
of  religion  to  the  infant  congregation  of  aborigines 
and  colonists.  The  year  following,  Port  Royal,  now 

34 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        35 

Annapolis,  was  settled,  and  Rev.  Jesse  Fleche  minis- 
tered to  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  settlers. 

In  1611,  Father  Peter  Biard,  a  native  of  Grenoble, 
and  Father  Enemond  Masse,  two  members  of  the 
Society  of  Jesus,  whom  the  bigotry  of  the  Huguenot 
ship-owners  and  the  secret  hostility  of  Jean  de  Bien- 
court,  Sieur  de  Potrincourt,  the  new  Seigneur  of 
Port  Royal,  had  long  detained  in  the  ports  of  France, 
arrived.  Their  object  was  to  evangelize  the  native 
tribes,  and  they  devoted  themselves  to  their  mission- 
ary labors  with  great  success,  converting  among  others 
the  almost  centenary  chieftain  Memberton,  and  many 
of  his  people.  The  colonists,  however,  many  being 
poor,  were  in  great  distress,  and  for  a  time  the  Jesuits 
might  be  seen  laboring  for  the  general  good  of  all, 
becoming  carpenters,  fishermen,  and  everything,  in  a 
word,  that  charity  could  suggest  or  devotedness  in- 
spire, which  endeavor  on  their  part,  however,  instead 
of  melting  seemed  to  harden  the  hearts  of  the  bigoted 
even  more  and  more  against  them,  so  much  so  that  at 
length,  from  the  brutality  of  Biencourt  and  a  young 
and  headstrong  son  of  Potrincourt,  they  resolved  to 
leave  Port  Royal  and  retm-n  to  France,  which  attempt 
their  oppressors  equally  prevented,  and  they  were 
compelled  to  remain. 

The  report  of  their  suffering  and  persecution  reach- 
ing France,  their  friends  sent  out  other  Fathers,  with 
emigrants,  and  all  necessary  supplies,  to  commence  a 
settlement  elsewhere.  Mount  Desert,  at  the  mouth 
of  Penobscot,  was  selected,  and  hither  the  Sieur  de 
la  Saussage,  the  commandant,  having  taken  Fathers 


36  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Biard  and  Masse  on  board,  steered  in  the  month  of 
March,  1613.  Landing  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Island,  they  planted  a  cross,  and  traced  out  a  fort  on 
the  west  side  of  the  "  Pool,"  a  part  of  the  sound 
which  runs  into  the  centre  of  the  Island.*  Religious 
in  its  design,  the  settlement  bore  the  name  of  the 
"  Holy  Saviour."  Here  the  Fathers  daily  offered  the 
holy  Sacrifice  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  expecting  soon 
to  see  a  rustic  chapel  rise  on  their  Island.  On  a  cer- 
tain day  Father  Biard,  accompanied  by  one  of  the 
officers,  proceeded  to  the  mainland  to  visit  the  natives. 
The  wailing  of  distress  in  the  distance  soon  satis- 
fied them  that  an  Indian  village  was  not  far  off.  In 
a  short  time  they  entered  it ;  and  imagine  their  sur- 
prise when  seeing  a  poor  Indian  holding  a  dying 
child  in  his  arms,  surrounded  by  the  tribe  ranged  in  a 
double  row !  The  scene  touched  the  tender  chord 
of  pity  in  the  heart  of  the  good  missionary ;  hastily 
drawing  near,  he  took  the  infant  and  baptized  it. 
The  healing  water  of  the  sacrament  restored,  not  only 
spiritual,  but  bodily  health  ;  the  child  recovered,  and 
the  natives  looked  upon  the  new  comers  as  envoys  of 
heaven. 

While  the  natives  were  thus  being  won  over  to  the 
truth,  and  the  mission  seemed  destined  to  effect  im- 
measurable good,  it  pleased  the  Almighty  to  allow  it 
to  be  arrested  in  a  moment,  and  all  its  hopes  to  be 
dashed  to  the  ground.  A  fleet  of  fishing  smacks 
from  Virginia,  escorted  by  one  Argal,  already  noted 
for  his  lawless  acts,  and  known  at  a  later  date  as  the 

*  Williamson's  History  of  Maine,  i.  206,  76. 


THE    CHURCH    IN    NEW    ENGLAND.  T>7 

tyrant  and  scourge  of  Virginia,  reached  the  coast  of 
Maine.  Hearing  of  the  French  settlement,  Argal 
resolved  to  destroy  it,  and  sailing  up,  opened  a  brisk 
fire  on  the  unprepared  French,  few  of  whom  were  in 
their  vessel.  De  Saussage  made  what  resistance  he 
could,  but  was  soon  compelled  to  surrender,  with  all 
his  party.  In  this  skirmish,  a  lay-brother,  named 
Gilbert  du  Thet,  was  mortally  wounded,  and  expired 
soon  after  his  removal  to  the  shore,  rejoicing  with  his 
latest  breath  at  his  happiness  in  being  permitted  to 
shed  his  blood  for  the  faith.  He  was  buried  at  the 
foot  of  the  mission  cross,  and  the  missionaries  were 
compelled  to  bid  a  last  farewell  to  the  spot  whence 
they  had  hoped  to  spread  civilization  and  Christianity 
throughout  the  land  of  the  Abenakis.  Two  of  them, 
Fathers  Biard  and  Masse,  were  carried  off  to  Virginia 
as  prisoners ;  the  other  two,  Fathers  Lalement  and 
Quentin,  were  allowed  to  leave  for  the  nearest  French 
port. 

Such  was  the  close  of  this  celebrated  mission,  de- 
stroyed by  violence  and  injustice.  Argal's  atrocity 
did  not  end  here  ;  seizing  de  Saussage's  commission, 
he  treated  him  and  his  comrades  as  pirates,  and 
almost  succeeded  in  having  them  hanged  in  Virginia 
as  such.  The  bloody  penal  laws  of  England,  which 
darken  with  their  awful  atrocity  so  many  a  page  of 
the  colonial  statute-book  of  Virginia,  were  also  held 
in  terror  over  the  heads  of  the  Fathers.  But  God 
was  still  with  His  own,  and  after  being  taken  back  to 
Acadia  in  a  new  plundering  expedition,  they  owed 
their  lives  only  to  a  storm  which  drove  them  to  the 


38  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Catholic  Azores.  Here  the  captain  was  in  their 
power  ;  but  disdaining  to  repay  evil  by  evil,  they  for- 
bore to  disclose  their  character  and  sufferings  to  the 
authorities  af  the  Island,  and  allowed  him  to  depart 
in  peace.  They  subsequently  reached  England,  and 
after  a  little  delay,  proceeded  to  France :  one  to  die 
soon  after  in  the  midst  of  his  labors,  the  other  to 
return  to  America,  to  toil  for  years  before  receiving 
the  reward  of  the  just.* 

Although  the  Virginians  destroyed  Port  Royal,  the 
French  soon  returned  to  the  coast  of  what  is  now  the 
State  of  Maine,  and  in  1619  two  associations  were 
formed  at  Bordeaux,  one  for  trading  purpose  on  the 
Acadian  coast,  the  other  for  the  fisheries.  Not  to  be 
deprived  of  religious  succor  on  that  lonely  shore,  the 
members  of  these  associations  applied  to  the  Recol- 
lects of  the  Province  of  Aquitaine  for  three  Fathers 

*  Peter  Biard,  a  native  of  Grenoble,  was  a  Jesuit  of  learn- 
ing and  ability.  After  his  American  mission,  he  was  for  a 
time  professor  of  theology  at  Lyons,  and  afterwards  a  chap- 
lain in  the  French  army, -in  which  post  he  died  at  Avignon, 
November  17,  1622.  —  See  Louvenay,  Historia  Societatis 
Jesu,  324. 

Enemond  Masse  was  born  in  1574,  and  entered  the  Society 
of  Jesus  at  the  age  of  twenty-two.  When  chosen  for  the 
Acadian  mission,  he  was  Socius  of  the  Provincial,  Father 
Coton.  His  misfortunes  in  Maine  did  not  quench  his  apos- 
tolic spirit.  He  was  one  of  the  first  Jesuits  sent  to  Quebec 
in  1625,  and  though  again  taken  by  the  English  in  1629.  he 
again  returned  in  1633,  and  labored  chiefly  among  the  Mon- 
tagnas  and  the  French  till  his  death,  which  took  place  May 
12,  1646.  —  Shea's  Hist.  Cath.  Missions,  134.  —  Bressani,  Re- 
lation Abreg6e,  174. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        39 

and  a  lay-brother,  whom  they  promised  to  support 
as  long  as  their  companies  lasted.  Several  Fathers 
came  and  established  a  central  mission  on  the  River 
St.  John,  whence  they  extended  their  labors  to  Mis- 
cou,  near  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  Periobscot,  apparently,  on  the  other. 
Their  labors  were  not  fruitless,  the  Indian,  no  less 
than  the  French  trader  and  fisherman,  reaped  the 
advantages  ;  and  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties  they 
shrank  from  neither  peril  nor  hai'dship.  One  of 
them,  Father  Sebastian,  was,  above  all,  noted  for  his 
intrepidity,  and  he  penetrated  to  Quebec  overland, 
and  wintered  with  the  Recollects  there.  In  1623, 
however,  setting  out  from  Miscou  for  the  mission  on 
the  St.  John's,  he  sank  beneath  his  labors,  and  per- 
ished from  hunger  and  misery,  closing  a  three  years' 
apostolate  by  a  death  which,  though  unseen  by  men, 
yet  perhaps  before  God,  from  its  peculiarity,  was  as 
precious  as  the  martyrdom  of  a  Breboeuf  or  a  Cha- 
banel.  The  next  year  his  surviving  companions, 
Father  Jacques  de  la  Foyer,  Louis  Fontinier,  and 
Jacques  Cardon,  in  consequence  of  orders  from  their 
Provincial,  left  the  mission,  and  penetrated  by  the 
Riviere  du  Loup  to  Quebec.* 

The  English  swept  over  Acadia,  and  the  French 
settlements  fell  into  their  hands ;  but  the  conquerors 
did  not  secure  possession.  As  early  as  1630,  Charles 
St.  Etienne  de  la  Tour  was  on  the  Acadian  coast, 
and  extended  his  stations  to  the  Penobscot.  Three 
Recollect  missionaries  attended  him,  and  soon  restored 

*  Champlain's  Voyages,  p.  282.     Charlevoix,  it.  p.  195. 


40  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

their  missions  in  Maine.  Champlain  tells  us,  in  1632, 
that  they  were  still  there  ;  and  as  the  French,  in  that 
year,  seized  the  last  English  post  on  the  Penobscot 
and  at  Machias,  the  mission  probably  lasted  for  some 
years,  but  of  which  we  have  no  details.* 

The  commander  De  Razillai,  who  owned  this  part 
of  Acadia,  died  in  1635,  and  his  portion  passed  to 
d'Aulney  de  Charnisy,  who  made  Biguyduce  his  post. 
More  devoted  to  the  religious  wants  of  the  French  on 
the  coast  of  Maine  than  La  Tour,  who  was  a  Protes- 
tant, he  established  a  Capuchin  mission  on  the  Ken- 
nebec  in  1643.  To  the  old  fort  on  the  Penobscot, 
near  to  the  present  town  of  Castine,  the  Superior 
often  sent  his  missionaries.  The  good  Fathers,  wher- 
ever stationed,  whether  on  the  coast,  keeping  alive 
by  daily  exhortation  the  faith  of  their  countrymen,  or 
in  the  interior,  warning  the  traders  of  the  severe  jus- 
tice of  God  when  directed  towards  the  unjust  buyer 
and  seller,  forgot  not  in  the  "  all  for  all  "  in  the  Scrip- 
ture, the  no  less  important  monition  of  St.  Paul,  to 
beware  of  the  danger  of  a  "  reprobate  and  castaway," 
while  engaged  in  preaching  and  laboring  for  others. 

Missionaries  had  thus  labored  for  years,  when  Cath- 
olicity was  now  to  take  a  firm  hold  in  the  land,  not  in 
the  stranger  from  afar,  but  in  the  children  of  the  soil, 
the  red  men  of  the  forest. 

The  Jesuit  Fathers  had  not  abandoned  the  mission 
ground  where  Du  Thet  lay,  at  the  foot  of  the  broken 

*  Charlevoix,  i.  436.  Rel.  1646-7.  Hildreth's  United 
States,  i.  299.  Williamson's  Maine,  i.  71,  322. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        4! 

cross  ;  their  eyes  were  often  turned  longingly  towards 
it.  In  1642  they  had  gathered,  at  St.  Joseph's,  on  the 
St.  Lawrence,  a  number  of  Algonquins  and  Montag- 
nais,  won  from  their  nomadic  life  to  Christianity  and 
civilization.  This  settlement  was  the  charitable  work 
of  the  pious  Knight  Noel  Brulart  de  Sillery,  and 
under  the  name  of  this  valiant  chevalier,  its  events 
have  passed  into  history. 

Like  all  the  mission  settlements,  its  early  annals 
show  examples  of  high  and  heroic  sanctity.  Among 
the  Christian  warriors  of  Sillery,  none  is  more  illus- 
trious than  Charles  Meiaskwat.  When  the  Abenakis 
of  Maine  and  Algonquins  of  Canada  were  on  friendly 
terms  with  each  other,  word  reached  his  ears  that 
some  of  his  Algonquin  brethren  had  revived  old 
animosities,  and  delighted  in  torturing  the  Abenakis 
who  had  fallen  into  their  hands.  In  company  with 
Nicolet,  the  great  explorer  of  the  west,  this  true  child 
of  faith  set  out  to  rescue  them.  Nicolet  perished  in 
a  rapid,  but  the  generous  Charles,  nowise  discour- 
aged, pressed  on,  met  the  torturers  and  their  victims, 
and  after  administering  a  justly  merited  rebuke  to  the 
heartless  wretches,  provided  for  the  wounded  in  the 
Convent  of  the  hospital  nuns  of  Sillery.  There  cared 
for  with  a  tenderness  which  the  good  Sisters  knew 
well  how  to  bestow,  these  poor  Indians  soon  became 
convalescent,  and  with  strength  came  the  desire  to 
return  to  their  homes.  Charles  accompanied  them, 
and  before  arrival  at  the  mission  ground  of  the  Abena- 
kis, the  story  of  his  devotedness  and  affection  had 
been  noised  through  the  tribe.  His  reception  was 


42  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

coi'dial,  for  gi'atitude  lingers  long  and  prompts  to  good 
in  the  savage  breast.  The  occasion  was  profited  by, 
for  our  hero  at  once  acted  the  catechist  towards  these 
long  neglected  children  of  Maine,  and  with  signal 
success.  Returning  to  Sillery,  Charles  was  accom- 
panied by  a  sagamore,  or  chief,  who  remained  at  St. 
Joseph's,  and  was  soon  followed  by  others. 

Ere  long  an  embassy  came,  in  the  name  of  the 
Abenakis,  to  invite  the  black-gown  to  come  and  reside 
in  their  midst.  As  soon  as  the  fearful  Iroquois  war, 
which  desolated  Canada,  lulled,  so  as  to  enable  the 
missionaries  to  attempt  a  new  mission,  Father  Gabriel 
Druilletes  was  sent,  in  1646,  to  found  the  mission  of 
the  Assumption.  He  set  out  on  the  29th  of  August, 
with  a  party  of  Indians,  and  after  a  painful  and  labo- 
rious journey  through  the  wilderness,  reached  the 
village  of  the  Abenakis  in  safety.  His  uncomplaining 
endurance  had  won  all  hearts,  and  he  found  a  rude 
chapel  raised  for  his  use  about  three  miles  above  the 
present  town  of  Augusta.  This  became  the  centre 
of  his  labors,  and  in  a  few  months  he  had  acquired 
their  dialect  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  converse  in  it. 
His  people  were  docile  and  attentive  ;  they  were  soon 
won  to  the  faith,  and  numbers  implored  baptism  ;  but 
this  he  prudently  deferred.  He  came  to  prepare  the 
ground,  to  learn  their  dispositions,  leaving  the  super- 
structure to  be  raised  by  others,  requiring,  however, 
their  immediate  renunciation  of  their  superstitions, 
their  quarrels,  and  intemperance. 

The  English  at  Augusta,  and  the  French  to  the 
eastward,  warmly  encoui'aged  the  good  work,  as  did 


THE,  CHURCH    IN    NEW    ENGLAND.  43 

also  the  Capuchin  Superior,  Father  Ignatius,  who 
extended  to  him  the  most  cordial  greeting.  His  stay, 
however,  was  limited,  as,  in  accordance  with  the 
orders  of  his  Superior,  he  was  to  return  to  head- 
quarters, where  he  was  to  hand  in  his  report.  The 
grief  of  the  Abenakis,  at  hearing  of  his  departure,  was 
intense,  till  alleviated  with  the  promise  of  his  speedy 
return. 

About  the  time  of  which  we  write,  the  New  Eng- 
land Colonies  had  made  proposals  of  amity  and 
alliance  with  Canada,  and  the  Governor  of  the  latter 
chose  Father  Druilletes  to  proceed  to  Boston  to  dis- 
cuss the  matter  with  the  General  Count.* 

Before  entering  on  his  embassy,  we  shall  glance  at 
the  early  history  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay 
Colonies.  The  French  had,  as  we  have  seen,  ex- 
plored all  the  coast,  but  made  no  attempt  to  settle 
west  of  the  Kennebec  ;  yet,  in  1617,  a  French  vessel 
was  wrecked  near  Cape  Cod,  and  all  who  reached 
the  shore  were  massacred  by  the  Indians,  except 
three,  who  were  sent  from  one  Sachem  to  another 
in  triumph.  Two  soon  sank  victims  to  disease  and 
violence.  The  third,  supposed  to  have  been  a  priest, 
lived  longer,  and  endeavored  to  convert  the  Indians 
and  win  them  from  vice  ;  but  their  obdurate  hearts 
were  proof  to  all  his  appeals,  and  he  frequently  held 
up  to  them  the  terrors  of  eternity  and  the  wrath  of 
an  offended  God.  Soon  after  his  death,  a  pestilence 

*  Convers  Francis's  Life  of  Eliot,  p.  219,  and  authority 
there  cited.  Hildreth's  History  of  United  States.  Win- 
throp's  New  England,  pp.  59-67,  Boston  edition,  1853. 


44  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

swept  over  the  land,  which  they  looked  upon  as  the 
result  of  his  prayers,  and  as  their  tribes  were  reduced 
to  a  mere  handful,  they  repented  of  their  obduracy, 
and  resolved  to  listen  to  the  white  men  who  should 
tell  them  of  the  Great  Spirit.  Thus  was  the  field 
prepared  for  the  future  labors  of  Eliot.* 

In  1620,  the  May  Flower  bore  to  the  rocky  shore, 
which  had  already  received  the  name  of  Plymouth, 
the  gloomy  Sepai'atists,  —  men  of  iron  will,  intolerant, 
tyrannical,  and  self-righteous.  Discarding  the  forms 
and  creed  of  the  Church  of  England,  they  assumed 
the  divine  right  of  forming  a  new  church  ;  in  this 
they  enrolled  the  more  mature  as  members,  and  ad- 
mitted others  only  on  their  giving  such  proofs  of  per- 
sonal religion  and  due  submission  as  pleased  them. 
Such  is  church  membership.  But  these  zealots  not 
only  thus  narrowed  down  the  number  of  those  who 
were  to  share  in  the  benefits  of  the  church  of  their 
own  creation,  but  enriched  church  membership  with 
the  exclusive  privilege  of  an  elective  franchise.  None 
but  a  church  member  could  vote,  much  less  be  elected 
to  office.  Massachusetts,  soon  after  founded,  followed 
the  example  thus  set.  No  Protestant  even,  who  dif- 
fered from  their  views,  was  permitted  to  stay  within 
their  territory  ;  —  Roger  Williams,  the  Baptist,  was 
driven  out ;  Gorton,  another  Baptist,  dragged  into 
their  territories  and  flogged ;  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  ex- 
iled ;  and  the  Quakei's  hanged.  As  might  be  sup- 
posed, Catholicity  was  unknown,  except  as  an  object 

*  Hildreth,  i.  222. 


THK  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        45 

of  horror  and  dread.  In  1631,  Sir  Christopher  Gar- 
diner, on  mere  suspicion  of  being  a  probable  "Pa- 
pist "  (for  such  in  those  days  was  the  common  term 
for  Catholics),  was  summarily  seized  and  sent  out  of 
the  colony  without  the  least  form  of  trial.* 

Three  years  after,  led  by  Williams,  so  often  held 
up  as  the  father  of  toleration  in  America,  they  de- 
clared the  Cross  a  "  relic  of  antichrist !  a  Popish  sym- 
bol savoring  of  superstition,  and  not  to  be  counte- 
nanced by  Christian  men,"  and,  accordingly,  in  the 
height  of  their  zeal  they  actually  cut  the  cross  out 
of  the  English  flag,  refusing  to  march  or  live  under 
anything  that  bore  the  "  sign  of  the  Son  of  Man." 

In  1646  D'Aulney  visited  Boston  with  some  troops, 
to  get  aid,  if  possible,  in  his  war  with  De  la  Tour, 
and  exceedingly  alarmed  the  Protestant  town.  That 
same  year,  as  we  have  seen,  Father  Druilletes  reached 
the  English  settlement  at  Augusta.  This  increased 
the  alarm  :  in  their  fervid  imaginations  New  England 
was  already  in  the  hands  of  Catholicity.  They  re- 
solved to  check  its  inroads  :  in  1647,  while  the  simple- 
minded  Druilletes  was  still  laboring  to  regenerate  the 
red  man,  of  whose  salvation  these  self-righteous  men 

*  In  the  same  year  Mr.  Phillips,  the  minister  at  Water- 
town,  and  Mr.  Brown,  one  of  his  elders,  expressed  the  opin- 
ion that  the  Church  of  Rome  was  a  true  Church  of  Christ. 
So  terrible  did  this  doctrine  appear  to  the  Puritans,  and  so 
important  to  the  State,  that  the  General  Court,  or  Legisla- 
ture of  Massachusetts,  took  the  matter  in  hand,  and  wrote 
a  letter  denouncing  such  an  opinion.  —  General  Laws  and 
Liberties  of  Massachusetts  Colony,  p.  67. 


46  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

scarcely  thought,  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts 
met,  and  took  the  matter  into  consideration.  They 
resolved  to  pass  an  act  forbidding  Jesuits  to  enter 
their  domains.  The  preamble  is  curious,  as  showing 
the  degree  of  enlightenment  then  prevalent  in  New 
England.  "  The  Court  taking  into  consideration  the 
great  wars,  combustions  and  divisions  which  are  this 
day  in  Europe,  and  that  the  same  are  observed  to  be 
raised  and  fomented  chiefly  by  the  secret  undermin- 
ings and  solicitations  of  those  of  the  Jesuitical  order, 
men  brought  up  and  devoted  to  the  religions  and  the 
Court  of  Rome,  which  hath  occasioned  divers  states 
to  expel  them  their  territories,  for  prevention  whereof 
among  ourselves  ;  "  &c.,  to  enact  that  all  Jesuits  should 
be  forbidden  to  enter  their  jurisdiction,  be  banished 
if  they  did,  and  be  put  to  death  if  they  returned. 
With  a  degree  of  humanity,  quite  remarkable  in  men 
who  thus  charge  on  others  their  own  seditious  prin- 
ciples, they  kindly  added,  that  if  a  poor  Jesuit  should 
be  shipwrecked  on  their  shore  they  would  not  hang 
him.* 

Such  was  the  province  to  which,  in  1650,  the  Rev. 
Jesuit  Priest,  Father  Druilletes,  was  sent  as  envoy. 

FATHER  DRUILLETES  IN  BOSTON  AND  AT  PLYM- 
OUTH IN  1650. 

The  United  Colonies  of  New  England  having  made 
proposals  for  a  kind  of  alliance,  Father  Druilletes 

*  General  Laws  and  Liberties  of  Massachusetts  Colony, 
p.  67. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.         47 

was  chosen,  in  the  summer  of  1650,  to  repair  to  Bos- 
ton, to  confer  with  the  Commissioners.  With  full 
letters  as  plenipotentiary,  he  set  out  from  Quebec  on 
the  ist  of  September,  with  a  companion,  John  Guerin, 
and  several  Indians,  and  after  losing  their  way  and 
suffering  greatly,  reached  Norridgewock.  On  the 
28th  of  September  he  arrived  at  Augusta,  then  called 
Coussinoe,  where  Noel,  the  Indian  chief  who  accom- 
panied him,  addressed  Winslow,  the  commandant  of 
the  post,  in  Indian  style,  giving  him  presents,  and 
committing  the  Father  to  his  care. 

The  commandant,  John  Winslow,  entertained  the 
highest  esteem  for  Druilletes,  and  promised  to  treat 
him  as  a  brother.  He  kept  his  word,  and  there 
sprung  up  between  the  Plymouth  Puritan  and  the 
French  Jesuit  such  a  degree  of  friendship,  that  while 
the  former  styled  the  missionary  his  Xavier,  the  latter 
bestowed  on  his  friend  the  name  of  Pereira,  in  remem- 
brance of  Xavier's  devoted  friend. 

After  meeting  a  deputation  of  the  Sokakis,  or  Saco 
Indians,  to  whom  he  proposed  an  alliance,  Druilletes 
and  his  companion,  with  Mr.  Wilson,  proceeded  to 
Merry  Meeting  Bay,  where  they  embarked  on  the 
25th  of  November. 

Passing  Damariscotta,  where  a  Catholic  church  in 
later  times  was  to  rise,  the  voyagers  at  last,  on  the 
feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception,  reached  Boston. 

The  principal  men  of  Charlestown  immediately 
waited  on  him,  and  Major  General  Gibbons,  being 
informed  of  the  character  in  which  he  came,  invited 
him  to  his  house,  and,  says  the  good  Father,  "  gave 


48  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

me  the  key  of  a  room  where  I  might,  in  all  liberty,  pray 
and  perform  the  other  exercises  of  my  religion  ;  and 
he  besought  me  to  take  no  other  lodging  while  I  was 
in  Boston." 

Father  Druilletes  does  not  state  in  his  own  narra- 
tive that  Guerin  attended  him,  or  that  he  carried  his 
missionary  chalice  with  him  ;  but  as  this  is  by  no 
means  improbable,  we  may  infer  that  the  Holy  Sac- 
rifice of  the  Mass  was  offered  in  Boston,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1650. 

He  began  his  negotiations  with  Governor  Dudley 
and  the  Boston  magistrates,  but  as  the  Abenakis  lay  in 
a  territory  claimed  by  Plymouth,  they  referred  him  to 
that  colony.  The  missionary  accordingly  started  on 
the  2  ist  December  for  Plymouth.  On  his  arrival 
there  he  was  very  courteously  received  by  Governor 
Bradford,  who  invited  him  to  dinner,  and  very  consid- 
erately had  a  dish  of  fish  prepared,  as  it  was  Friday. 

The  Plymouth  people,  more  interested  in  the  French 
trade  than  others,  readily  consented  to  give  the  aid 
which  the  Governor  of  Canada  asked  against  the  Iro- 
quois  as  a  condition  of  an  alliance. 

Returning  to  Boston,  he  stopped  on  the  way  at 
Roxbury,  and  spent  a  night  with  the  Protestant  min- 
ister, John  Eliot,  the  celebrated  Apostle  of  the  Indians. 
Here,  too,  he  won  esteem,  and  the  New  England  mis. 
sionary  urged  his  French  fellow-laborer  to  pass  the 
winter  with  him. 

At  Boston,  Druilletes  found  the  officials  more  in- 
clined to  aid  the  French,  now  that  the  Governor  of 
Plymouth  had  expressed  himself  favorable,  and  having, 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        49 

by  conferences  and  visits,  gained  all  whom  he  could  to 
vote  in  his  favor  at  the  next  meeting  of  the  Commis- 
sioners, he  sailed  from  Boston  on  the  3d  of  January, 
1651,  and  putting  in  to  Marblehead  on  the  9th,  left 
a  proxy  with  Mr.  Endicott,  to  act  for  him  at  the 
meeting. 

By  the  8th  of  February  he  was  again  at  the  Kenne- 
bec,  prepared  to  resume  his  missionary  labors.*  Such 
was  the  first  visit  of  a  Catholic  priest  to  Massachu- 
setts. There  is  not  a  word  in  his  narrative  to  show 
the  existence  of  a  single  Catholic  at  Boston,  Plymouth, 
Roxbury,  or  Marblehead,  and  indeed  the  only  Catho- 
lic whom  he  met  in  his  voyage  was  a  French  sailor, 
whom  he  found  at  York,  Maine. 

The  great  mass  of  his  Catechumens  on  the  Kenne- 
bec,  in  spite  of  his  long  absence,  had  persevered ; 
their  dying  children  had  been  baptized,  and  buried 
beneath  the  cross-surmounted  graves.  His  neophytes 
had  even  become  catechists,  communicating  to  the 
less  fortunate  the  knowledge  which  they  had  acquired. 
His  labors  in  this  happy  tribe  were  soon  repaid  with 
abundant  fruits,  and  he  continued  his  mission  till 
March,  1652,  the  only  interruption  being  a  visit  to 
Quebec  and  another  to  Boston,  in  1651.  The  Abena- 
kis  had  adopted  him  as  a  Chief,  and  revered  him  as 
their  best  and  most  devoted  Father. 

With  his  departure,  the  Abenakis  mission  ceased  for 

*  Druilletes,  Narr.  1'un  Voyage,  MSS.,  privately  printed  for 
Mr.  Lenox,  after  Shea's  copy.  For  a  translation,  see  Collec- 
tions of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  series  ii.  vol.  III., 
or  the  Proceedings  of  the  Mass.  Historical  Society  for  1855. 

4 


5O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

a  time,  and  for  some  years,  it  would  seem,  no  Catho- 
lic priest  stood  in  the  territories  of  New  England. 

Father  Druilletes  returned,  indeed,  in  the  latter 
part  of  1656  to  his  former  station  at  Norridgewock ; 
but  in  the  following  spring  bade  a  last  farewell  to  his 
Abenakis  children.* 

Missionaries  are  said  to  have  resumed  his  labors 
there  in  1659  ;  but  this  is  uncertain,  and  many  of  the 
Catholic  Abenakis,  despairing  of  obtaining  a  resident 
missionary,  emigrated  to  Canada,  and  joined  the  Al- 
gonquin mission  at  Sillery. 

Phips's  war  also  induced  many  to  strike  towards 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  in  the  summer  of  1675  a  large 
party  of  Sokotis  proceeded  to  Three  Rivers,  and  a 
large  party  of  Abnakis  to  Sillery,  which  they  reached 
in  the  spring  of  1676,  after  undergoing  the  utmost 
extremity  of  famine  during  the  winter.  Here  the 
missionary  Father  James  Vaultrer  received  them 
with  all  cordiality,  and  after  providing  for  their  tem- 

*  Father  Gabriel  Druilletes  was  born  in  France  in  1593, 
and  after  entering  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  sent  to  Canada 
in  1643.  He  was  immediately  sent  to  the  missions  of  the 
wandering  Algonquins,  and  after  losing  his  sight,  which 
was  miraculously  restored,  continued  his  labors  amongst 
them  for  nearly  forty  years.  He  evangelized  the  Montag- 
nais,  Algonquins,  Knistineaux,  Papinachois,  and  Abenakis, 
on  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Kennebec;  and  proceeding  to  the 
west  in  1666,  labored  among  the  Ottawas  and  Chippeways 
at  Sault  St.  Marie  for  several  years.  He  died  at  Quebec, 
April  8,  1681,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight.  He  was  highly 
esteemed  for  his  sanctity;  and  even  miracles  were  ascribed 
to  him.  —  Shea's  History  of  the  Missions,  141. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        5! 

poral  wants,  began  to  instruct  them  in  the  faith.  They 
showed  every  disposition  that  he  could  desire,  and 
their  chieftain,  Pirouacci,  was  a  model  of  fervor  and 
piety.  Several  were  soon  baptized,  and  the  Abenakis 
Christians  began  to  form  the  majority  at  Sillery.  Old 
and  young  attended  the  missionaries'  instructions,  and 
afterwards  repeated  them  to  each  other  in  their  cabins. 
The  medicine  men  were  unheard  of,  intoxication  un- 
known, while  purity  reigned  for  the  first  time  among 
them.* 

In  1677  a  mission  was  also  established  on  the  Ri- 
viere du  Loup,  for  the  Penobscots  and  Passamaquod- 
dies,  many  of  whom  were  gained  to  the  Faith  by  the 
zealous  Father  Morain.f  A  few  years  later,  in  1683, 
we  find  Father  James  Bigot  and  Father  H.  F.  Gassot 
stationed  at  Sillery,  now  almost  exclusively  an  Abena- 
kis mission,  and  the  centre  of  Christianity  for  the  tribes 
of  Maine.  As  this  spot,  however,  was  no  longer  fit  for 
an  Indian  village,  the  soil  being  completely  exhausted, 
Father  Bigot  resolved  to  seek  a  new  site,  and  as  a 
charitable  lady,  the  Marchioness  de  Bauche,  had  given 
means  to  found  another  settlement,  he  purchased  a 
tract  on  the  River  Chaudiere,  just  by  its  beautiful  falls. 
Many  settled  here,  and  in  1685  all  that  had  remained 
at  St.  Joseph's  or  Sillery,  proceeded  to  St.  Francis,  as 
the  new  mission  was  called,  in  honor  of  the  holy  Bish- 
op of  Geneva,  and  the  cradle  of  the  Algic  Church  was 
deserted.  The  new  mission  flourished,  and,  though 

*  Rel.,  p.  107. 

f  Charlevoix,    ii.  676.     New   York  Colonial  Documents, 
edited  by  Dr.  O'Callaghan,  ix.  440. 


52  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

it  subsequently  was  transferred  to  another  spot,  bears 
to  this  day  the  name  of  St.  Francis. 

Scarcely  had  the  zealous  Father  Bigot  thus  estab- 
lished the  Abenakis  mission  in  Canada,  than  the  gov- 
ernment urged  him  to  renew  the  work  of  Druilletes 
on  the  Kennebec.  With  his  brother  Vincent,  he  set 
out  for  the  village  of  the  Abenakis,  where,  notwith- 
standing the  opposition  of  a  French  fishery  company, 
and  a  war  which  the  Indians  were  waging  on  the 
English,  these  two  missionaries  induced  no  less  than 
six  hundred  to  leave  Maine  and  join  the  mission  at 
St.  Francis.* 

Almost  at  the  same  time  the  Rev.  Peter  Thury,  a 
secular  priest  connected  with  the  Seminary  of  the 
Foreign  missions  at  Quebec,  left  his  newly-founded 
mission  at  Mii-amichi  to  plant  the  cross  at  Panawa- 
niske,  or  Indian  Old  Town,  on  the  Penobscot.f 

Here  he  was  invited  by  the  Baron  Vincent  St.  Cas- 
tin,  who,  having  built  a  fort  there,  and  married  the 
daughter  of  the  Sagamore  Modockewando,  had  ac- 
quired great  influence  among  the  Indians.  He  was 
a  man  of  deep  religious  feeling,  and  offered  to  sup- 
port the  missionary  at  his  own  expense.  M.  Thury 
accordingly  founded,  in  1688,  the  mission  of  St.  Anne, 
and  as  the  church  he  gathered  there  subsists  to  this 
day,  it  is  the  oldest  Catholic  settlement  in  New  Eng- 
land. 

N.  B.  Without  destroying  the  thread  of  our  nar- 
rative, we  would  here  introduce,  what  is  rather 

*  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  ix.  p.  57. 
f  Charlevoix,  i.  416. 


THE    CHURCH    IN    XEVV    ENGLAND.  53 

lengthy  for  a  marginal  note,  a  few  simple  little  traits 
of  the  devotion  of  the  Indian  Christians  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  Mother  of  our  Lord.  Asking  the  family  names 
of  the  women  at  baptism,  to  distinguish  in  their  regis- 
ters one  from  another,  they  often  found  the  greatest  diffi- 
culty in  procuring  them.  "  My  name  is  Mary,"  they 
would  say.  "But  I  want  your  Indian  name — your 
Ahenakis  name  ;  "  and  the  answer  would  be,  "  I  have 
no  other  name ;  Abenakis  name  no  good;  my  name 
is  Mary !  "  Almost  every  woman  was  a  Mary ;  if 
they  did  not  receive  that  name  in  baptism,  they  took 
it  in  confirmation,  or  they  would  go  and  ask  permis- 
sion of  their  pastor  to  be  called  henceforward  by  the 
beloved  name.  Or,  after  Mass,  they  would  linger  in 
the  church,  even  in  the  depth  of  winter,  to  recom- 
mend, in  an  especial  manner,  their  resolutions  and 
good  thoughts  to  her. 

An  Indian,  who  desires  to  reach  a  point  in  argu- 
ment, has  a  way  of  going  straight  at  it.  Not  remark- 
able for  syllogistic  abilities,  he  has  a  shorter  method 
of  reaching  correct  conclusions.  The  Mohawk,  when 
the  Dutchman  sneered  at  her  for  honoring  Mary, 
asked  to  whom  he  prayed.  He  said,  to  Christ,  his 
God.  But  she,  shaking  her  head  gravely,  said,  "  Guess 
not  pray  much  ;  no  have  no  honor  for  Mother,  no 
have  much  for  Son." 

One  of  the  Kennebec  chiefs,  of  Father  Bigot's 
time,  was  taunted  with  the  errors  of  his  creed,  in 
his  visits  to  the  English  settlements,  and  urged  by 
the  people  to  adopt  theirs  —  Protestant  Principles. 
"  Which  of  them?  "  asked  the  red  man,  "  for  no  two 


54  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

of  you  have  the  same."  Of  course  they  must  deny 
the  power  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  ;  for  they  could  see 
the  scapular  on  his  swarthy  chest,  or  the  beads  and 
medal  twisted  into  his  head-dress ;  but  he  fought 
the  usual  battle  with  them,  and  gave  himself  as  an 
example  to  prove  his  doctrines.  "  You  have  known 
me  long  enough,"  he  said.  "  You  know  that  I  was 
as  big  a  drunkard  as  ever  lived.  Well,  God  has  had 
pity  on  me  ;  and  I  can  defy  any  one  to  reproach  me 
with  having  tasted  wine  or  brandy  for  many  years. 
To  whom  am  I  obliged  for  this  but  to  our  Lady,  to 
the  Mother  of  Jesus.  For  to  her  I  had  recourse,  in 
my  extreme  feebleness,  for  grace  to  conquer  my  in- 
veterate habit  of  drunkenness  ;  and  by  her  help  I  con- 
quered it.  After  that,  will  you  tell  me  that  the  saints 
do  not  hear  us  ?  that  it  is  useless  to  address  ourselves 
to  the  Mother  of  God  ?  I  believe  none  of  your  words  ; 
you  are  deceivers.  My  own  experience  convinces  me  ; 
and  know  you  this,"  —  and  the  brave,  a  renowned 
one,  drew  himself  up,  and  his  dark  Indian  eye  kin- 
dled, —  "  know  this,  that  I  will  love  and  bless  the  Holy 
Virgin  to  the  last  breath  of  my  life.  For  I  am  sure 
that  she  is  glad  now,  and  that  she  will  recompense 
me  for  defending  her  cause  against  you." 

The  war  still  continued  to  desolate  the  State  of 
Maine.  In  1689  the  Penobscots,  before  engaging  in 
battle,  the  men,  women,  and  children  of  the  tribe 
together  approached  the  Sacraments,  and  while  the 
braves  were  marching  against  the  common  enemy, 
the  mothers,  and  wives  and  children,  kept  alive  affec- 
tion, by  the  daily  recitation  of  the  Rosary  for  their 
success. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        55 

The  English  were  now,  under  Sir  William  Phips, 
preparing  to  ravage  the  Acadian  settlements,  and  M. 
Thury  soon  after  retired  to  Port  Royal,  but  fortunate- 
ly returned  to  his  mission ;  for  on  the  25th  May, 
1690,  Phips  took  Port  Royal,  and  carried  off  the 
two  clergymen  there,  the  Rev.  Louis  Petit  and  the 
Rev.  Claude  Frouve.  The  former  was  carried  to 
Boston,  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Geoffrey,  one  of  his  as- 
sociates, visited  in  1687,  on  his  way  to  France.* 

Between  the  epochs  of  the  visits  of  these  two  priests 
to  Boston,  the  witch  mania  had  broken  out  in  New 
England,  and  an  Irish  Catholic  woman  had  perished 
its  first  victim.  Mrs.  Glover,  for  such  was  her  name, 
was  probably  one  of  the  unfortunate  women  whom 
English  barbarity  tore  from  their  homes  in  Ireland,  to 
sell  as  slaves  in  America.  English  she  could  scarcely 
speak  ;  and,  on  being  accused  as  a  witch,  by  a  certain 
Miss  Goodwin,  for  whom  her  daughter  had  worked, 
she  was  arrested  and  put  to  the  usual  tests,  one  of 
which  was  the  repetition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer :  she 
repeated  it  in  Irish,  but  as  it  was  not  understood,  they 
required  more.  She  repeated  it  next  in  Latin,  but 
not  quite  correctly :  in  English  she  could  not,  as  she 
had  never  learned  it.  This,  however,  corroborated  the 
testimony  of  the  girl,  her  accuser,  and  the  poor  Irish 
woman  was  hanged,  because  she  could  not  pray  in  a 
language  to  her  foreign  and  unknown  !  and,  strangely 
enough,  for  not  praying  in  pure  Latin  !  f 

*  Bancroft,  iii.  65-6.       Chandler's    American    Criminal 
Trials,  ii.  76.     Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  i. 
t  New  York  Colonial  Documents,  ix.  567. 


56  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

The  defeat  of  Phips,  at  Quebec,  enabled  the 
French  to  recover  the  ascendency  in  Acadia.  M. 
Petit  returned  to  Port  Royal,  or  Annapolis,  while  the 
Bigots  at  Norridgewock,  and  M.  Thury  at  Old  Town, 
continued  their  labors  among  the  Indians. 

In  1693  Father  Julian  Binneteau  succeeded  Father 
Bigot  on  the  Kennebec,  but  retired  to  St.  Francis  the 
next  year,*  and  was  succeeded  by  the  celebrated  Fr. 
Sebastian  Rale,  f  M.  Thury  continued  at  his  mis- 
sion at  Panawaniske,  Old  Town.  He  was  joined  in 
1696-7  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Honore  F.  Deschambault, 
whose  talents,  youth,  and  vigor  rendered  him  one  of 
the  hopes  of  the  mission  ;  but  he  expired  on  the  29th 
of  August,  1698,  and  was  soon  followed  by  M.  Thury, 
who  closed  his  career  on  the  3d  of  June,  1699.  His 
death  was  a  severe  blow,  for  he  was  not  only  a  priest 
of  great  zeal  and  piety,  but  a  man  of  great  ability  and 

*  Before  Father  Rale,  Father  Joseph  Aubery  and  Peter 
De  la  Chasse  were  also  there,  but  we  have  no  means  of  as- 
certaining the  precise  time.  Of  Father  Binneteau,  we  only 
know  that  he  was  at  St.  Francis  in  1694,  and  soon  after  in 
the  west,  where,  while  attached  to  the  Illinois  mission,  he 
followed  the  hunters  to  the  prairies  of  Missouri,  and  con- 
tracted a  fatal  fever,  of  which  he  expired  in  the  arms  of  Fa- 
ther Gabriel  Marest,  as  that  Father  tells  us  in  a  letter  dated 
1711. 

t  Peter  Thury,  born  at  Bayeux,  was  ordained  at  Quebec, 
December  21,  1677.  He  was  sent  to  Acadia  in  1684,  and 
founded  a  mission  at  Miramichi  in  the  following  year.  —  Tas- 
chereau  :  Memoir  on  the  Acadian  mission. 

Louis  H.  F.  Deschambault  also  belonged  to  the  Seminary 
of  Quebec.  He  was  ordained  in  1694.  —  Taschereau  :  O'Cal- 
laghan's  Colonial  Documents,  ix.  696. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        57 

discretion,  well  fitted  for  the  trying  circumstances  in 
which  he  lived.  He  was  interred  in  his  chapel,  where 
so  recently  another  missionary  of  the  tribe,  Father 
Kenneth  Kennedy,  of  the  Society,  had  been  laid  to 
moulder  beside  him. 

On  the  death  of  this  excellent  man,  the  Seminary 
of  Quebec  sent  the  Rev.  Mr.  Raylot,  and  subsequent- 
ly the  Rev.  Micael  A.  Gaulin,  to  Indian  Old  Town, 
or  Panawaniske,  where  they  remained  till  1703,  when 
the  mission  was  transferred  to  the  Jesuits.  Father 
Stephen  Lauvergat  seems  then  to  have  taken  up  his 
residence  there,  and  we  find  him  at  the  spot  for  sev- 
eral years.  A  Recollect,  Father  Simon,  about  the 
same  time  erected  a  mission  at  Medoktek,  on  the  St. 
John's.* 

The  war  between  the  Indians  and  the  New  Eng- 
landers  continued,  or  was  revived,  after  brief  inter- 
vals. In  1700  Massachusetts  passed  a  new  act,  lev- 
elled at  the  missionaries,  condemning  them  to  perpetu- 
al imprisonment,  and  death  if  recaptured  ;  a  renewal 
of  the  act  of  1647,  in  almost  the  same  terms,  and  with 
a  preamble  equally  replete  with  untruth.  Like  the 
New  York  Act  of  1700,  it  charges  the  missionaries 
with  having  lately  come  into  the  province,  but,  as  our 
readers  have  seen,  CATHOLIC  MISSIONARIES  PLANTED 

THE    CROSS    IN    MAINE     BEFORE    THE    MAY    FLOWER 

SAILED  FROM  ENGLAND.  Even  Rhode  Island,  with 
all  her  boasted  toleration,  now  specially  excepted  Ro- 
man Catholics.f 

*  12  William  III.  chap,  vii.,  Old  Colony  Laws,  p.  134. 
t  The  Rhode  Island  Act  bears  date  1663-4,  but  the  penal 


58  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

The  Abenaki  mission  on  the  Chaudiere,  was  on  the 
same  year  removed  to  its  present  site,  and  many  In- 
dians emigrated  thither  from  Maine. 

The  New  Englanders,  inflamed  by  the  law,  and  en- 
couraged by  a  reward  offered  for  the  head  of  Father 
Rale,  sent  an  expedition  under  Captain  Hilton,  against 
Norridgewock.*  The  missionary  and  most  of  his 
flock  were  absent,  but  returned  only  to  find  their 
church  and  village  in  a  heap  of  smoking  ruins :  Hil- 
ton had  profaned  the  sanctuary,  plundered  and  fired 
all. 

The  missionary  soon  after  fell  on  the  ice  and  broke 
both  legs,  so  that  he  remained  a  cripple  for  life. 

The  treaty  of  Utrecht  restored  peace  in  1713  ;  but 

clause  was  introduced  subsequently,  probably  about  1669. 
The  question  has  been  frequently  discussed,  and  will  be  found 
treated  at  some  length  in  An  Appeal  from  the  Judgments 
of  Great  Britain  respecting  the  United  States,  by  Robert 
Walsh,  p.  428.  Walsh,  long  consul  at  Paris,  is  a  Catholic, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  graduates  of  Georgetown  College. 

*  Rev.  Sebastian  Rale  was  born  in  1658,  in  Franche 
Comte,  where  his  family  occupied  a  distinguished  position. 
He  came  to  America,  and  arrived  at  Quebec,  October  13, 
1689.  He  was  first  stationed  at  St.  Francis,  then  among  the 
Illinois,  but  from  1695  to  his  death,  August  23,  1724,  was 
missionary  at  Norridgewock.  He  was  acquainted  with  sev- 
eral languages,  and  his  Abenaki  Dictionary,  carried  off  in 
1722,  was  published  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  American  Acade- 
my of  Arts  and  Sciences.  The  original  is  still  preserved  as 
a  treasure  at  Harvard  College. 

A  monument  was  erected  to  his  memory  by  Bishop  Fen- 
wick,  in  1833,  an  account  of  which  will  be  found  under  the 
historical  sketch  of  the  PORTLAND  DIOCESE. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.         59 

as  Maine  had  been  yielded  up  to  England,  many  of 
the  Abenaki's  again  emigrated  to  Canada,  and  founded 
the  mission  of  Becancour  ;  but  Father  Rale  remained, 
rebuilt  his  church,  and  when  a  Protestant  clergyman 
was  sent  to  seduce  his  flock,  the  faithful  missionary,, 
by  his  ability,  soon  rendered  the  intruder's  efforts  of 
no  avail. 

His  position,  however,  became  daily  more  danger- 
ous. The  French  government  wished  all  the  Indians 
to  emigrate  to  Cape  Breton  ;  the  missionaries  urged  a 
convention  between  the  two  crowns ;  but  meanwhile 
the  Indians,  roused  by  repeated  injuries,  took  up  arms. 
In  1722  Father  Rale's  mission  was  again  attacked 
and  plundered,  and  his  flock  reduced  to  utter  want : 
his  life  was  in  constant  danger,  but  withal  was  cheer- 
ful and  undaunted.  Father  Loyard,  who  had  suc- 
ceeded the  Recollect  Father  on  the  St.  John's,  was 
in  similar  distress,  and  sailed  to  France  in  1723,  to 
obtain  relief. 

While  peace  was  negotiating  in  1724,  the  English 
resolved  to  make  one  more  attempt  on  the  life  of 
Father  Rale.  On  the  23d  of  August,  1724,  a  force 
of  English  and  Indians  attacked  the  village  during 
the  absence  of  the  braves.  At  the  first  report  of  mus- 
ketry the  heroic  missionary  rushed  from  his  chapel 
to  offer  himself  to  the  enemy,  anxious  to  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  flock,  to  draw  on  himself  the  wrath  of  the 
enemy,  and  enable  his  neophytes  to  escape.  He  was 
the  object  of  the  hatred  of  the  foe :  no  sooner  was  he 
seen  than  every  musket  was  turned  upon  him,  and  he 
fell  at  the  foot  of  the  cross,  riddled  with  the  small  shot 


60  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

of  the  enemies'  firearms.  Rushing  on  him,  the  in- 
furiated men  then  hacked  and  mangled  his  palpitat- 
ing corpse,  clove  open  his  head,  broke  his  legs,  and 
in  their  rage  trampled  upon  him.  Proceeding  to  the 
church,  they  rifled  the  altar,  profaned  the  Adorable 
Host,  and  fired  the  sacred  edifice  ! 

No  missionary  occupies  a  more  prominent  part  in 
our  early  history  than  Sebastian  Rale.  The  reverence 
of  the  French  and  Indians  for  him  is  only  equalled  by 
the  bitter  hatred  of  the  English,  as  seen  in  their  many, 
and  at  last  successful,  attempts  on  his  life.  Learned, 
zealous,  and  laborious,  Father  Rale  was  careless  of 
his  own  ease  and  comfort,  unweai'ied  in  toil,  eager 
for  martyrdom,  and  most  devoted  to  the  religious  pro- 
gress of  his  flock.* 

The  other  missions  were  undisturbed,  and  when 
peace  was  restored,  we  find  the  Abenakis  of  the  Ken- 
nebec  soliciting  a  successor  to  their  missionary,  and 
a  chapel  service  to  replace  that  carried  off  to  Boston. 
The  King  ordered  presents  to  be  made  to  them,  "  to 
cover  the  body  of  the  missionary,"  that  is,  to  condole 
with  them  for  their  loss  ;  he  also  directed  their  chapel 
to  be  suitably  furnished.  The  Superior  of  the  Jesuits 
at  Quebec  chose  for  the  dangerous  post  Father  James 
Sirenne ;  who  made  them  a  visit  in  1729,  and  took 
his  permanent  residence  among  them  in  the  following 
year.f  He  remained  here  for  some  years,  although 
we  cannot  positively  state  the  duration  of  his  mission. 

*  E.  B.  O'Callaghan's  Colonial  Documents,  ix.  1002,  1004. 
t  Williamson's  Maine,  i.  465,  606;  ii.  259,  297. 


THE  CHURCH  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.        6 1 

Le  Bean,  a  rambling  traveller,  found  him  still  there 
in  1731  ;  but  the  tribe  was  rapidly  disappearing:  the 
Sokokis  had  mostly  repaired  to  Becancour,  near  Three 
Rivers,  the  Wawenocks  and  Androscoggins  had  in- 
deed joined  the  tribe  at  Norridgewock,  but  war  and 
emigration  had  greatly  reduced  the  village.  A  mis- 
sionary is  said  to  have  been  there  in  1774,  but  it  is 
doubtful.  Before  the  loss  of  Canada,  it  had  become 
the  abode  of  merely  a  few  straggling  families,  and 
soon  after  was  entirely  deserted.  The  monument  of 
Father  Rale  is  now  the  only  trace  of  the  once  cele- 
brated Indian  village. 

At  the  time  of  Father  Rale's  death,  Father  Lauver- 
geat  was  still  on  the  Penobscot,  but  as  he  was  greatly 
opposed  by  the  young  Cassines,  he  returned  soon  af- 
ter to  Medoktek,  leaving  the  Penobscots  without  a 
missionary  in  1732- 

On  the  St.  John's,  the  Recollect  Father  Simon  had 
been  succeeded  by  the  Jesuit  Father  Loyard,  who 
visited  France  in  1723  to  solicit  aid  for  his  flock,  and 
remained  there  till  about  the  period  of  Father  Lauver- 
geat's  mission. 

The  war  of  the  Spanish  succession,  which  broke 
out  in  i744i  desolated  what  is  now  Maine,  New 
Brunswick,  and  Nova  Scotia.  The  Catholic  mission- 
aries were  again  deported,  or  compelled  to  seek  refuge 
in  the  woods ;  but  acting  as  mediators,  they  at  last 
gained  the  confidence  of  the  English  colonists.  The 
peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelle,  in  1748,  enabled  them  to  re- 
new their  labors  in  peace  ;  but  six  years  after  war 
again  broke  out,  and  gave  a  death-blow  to  the  Catho- 
lic establishment  in  Maine  and  its  borders. 


62  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Father  Germain,  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  was  the 
last  of  the  old  Jesuit  missionaries  in  Maine.  His  chief 
station  was  the  mission  of  St.  Anne,  on  an  island  in 
the  St.  John's,  the  old  Medoktek,  whence  he  visited 
the  various  tribes  in  Maine,  leading  a  life  of  laborious 
usefulness  amid  the  general  respect.  As  the  fatal  war 
advanced,  he  deemed  his  post  unsafe,  and  retired  to 
Canada.  The  missions  of  Maine  thus  became  de- 
serted, and  the  fall  of  Quebec  seemed  to  forebode 
difficulty  and  danger  to  the  Abenaki  church. 


BRIEF    VIEW 

OF   THE 

MISSIONARY  LABORS  OF  THE  EARLY 
JESUIT  FATHERS. 

THE  members  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  founded,  as 
we  have  seen,  at  Quebec,  radiated  throughout  all 
New  France,  carrying  the  light  and  warmth  of  sal- 
vation to  every  part  of  its  territory.  Checked  for  a 
while  by  the  success  of  the  British  arms,  it  was  only 
to  commence  again  with  renewed  fervor.  By  1633 
no  less  than  fifteen  priests  of  their  order  were  at 
work  in  Canada,  "  and  every  tradition  bears  testi- 
mony to  their  worth.  Away  from  the  amenities  of 
life,  away  from  the  opportunities  of  vainglory,  they 
became  dead  to  the  world,  and  possessed  their  souls 
in  unutterable  peace.  The  few  who  lived  to  grow 
old,  though  bowed  by  the  toils  of  a  long  mission,  still 
kindled  with  the  fervor  of  apostolic  zeal.  The  his- 
tory of  their  labors  is  connected  with  the  origin  of 
every  celebrated  town  in  the  annals  of  French  Amer- 
ica. Not  a  cape  was  turned,  nor  a  river  entered,  but 
a  Jesuit  led  the  way."  * 

They  followed  the  shores  of  the  lakes  to  the  Bay  of 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  iii.  122. 

63 


64  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Saguenay,  and  pierced  into  the  heart  of  the  Huron 
forests.  St.  Mary's  rose  upon  the  Niagara  River. 
The  Marquis  de  Gamache  gave  himself  to  the  Soci- 
ety, and  endowed  with  his  ample  fortune  the  first 
college  at  Quebec.  From  1641  to  1644  the  remoter 
Huron  missionai'ies  received  no  supplies.  Their 
clothes  fell  to  pieces  ;  they  had  scarce  flour  to  make 
bread  enough  for  the  Holy  Mysteries ;  they  them- 
selves pressed  the  necessary  wine  from  the  wild 
grape  that  sprang  in  the  woodlands.  And  yet,  be- 
fore 1647,  forty -two  members  of  the  order  had  vis- 
ited and  labored  in  these  lonely  wilds,  counting  their 
lives  as  nothing,  if  only  they  could  win  souls  for  the 
kingdom  of  Christ. 

Before  1690  thirteen  had  baptized  the  pagan  land 
with  their  blood.  Others  had  fallen  victims  to  star- 
vation or  exposure. 

Father  Anne  de  Noue*,  after  years  of  terrible  toil, 
died,  frozen  stiff  and  cold  by  the  wild  February 
blasts,  upon  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  They 
found  him,  kneeling  upright,  with  crucifix  clasped  to 
his  breast,  and  calm  eyes  open,  and  fixed  on  heaven, 
on  the  Feast  of  the  Purification  of  her  whom  he 
loved  and  served  so  well  (1646).  Charles  Gamier, 
pierced  by  three  Iroquois  musket  balls,  when  about 
to  die,  perceived  a  poor  Christian  Indian  in  the  act 
of  expiring.  The  sight  awakened  all  the  priest 
within  him ;  he  staggered  to  his  feet,  only  to  fall 
again.  But  though  he  could  not  rise,  he  could,  and 
did,  drag  himself  along  the  blood-stained  ground, 
and,  as  he  gave  the  last  absolution,  a  tomahawk 
clove  his  skull,  and  he  died  on  the  eve  of  the  Immac- 


LABORS    OF   THE    EARLY  JESUIT    FATHERS.        65 

ulate  Conception,  which  gracious  mystery  he  had 
early  bound  himself  by  a  vow  to  defend,  even  unto 
death  (1649). 

Anthony  Daniel  fell  at  the  Iroquois  sacking  of  St. 
Joseph's,  in  1648.  The  braves  were  all  absent-  at 
the  chase.  There  were  none  at  home  but  the  old 
priest,  the  women,  and  the  children,  when  the  sav- 
ages burst  through  the  palisades.  Swiftly  he  rushed 
to  the  wigwams  to  baptize  the  sick ;  a  crowd  of 
others  demand  that  sacrament ;  he  had  no  time  for 
even  shortest  ceremonies ;  he  dips  his  handkerchief 
in  water,  and  baptizes  them  by  aspersion.  Then  he 
gave  general  absolution  to  all  who  sought  it,  and, 
entering  the  chapel,  he  vested,  and  stood  prepared 
to  meet  his  death.  "  The  wigwams  are  set  on  fire  ; 
the  Mohawks  approach  the  chapel,  and  the  conse- 
crated envoy  serenely  advances  to  meet  them.  As- 
tonishment seized  the  barbarians.  At  length,  draw- 
ing near,  they  discharged  at  him  a  flight  of  arrows. 
All  gashed  and  rent  by  wounds,  he  still  continued  to 
speak  to  them  with  surpassing  energy,  now  inspiring 
fear  of  the  Divine  anger,  and  again,  in  gentle  tones, 
breathing  the  affectionate  messages  of  mercy  and 
grace.  Such  were  his  actions  until  he  received  a 
death-blow  from  a  halbert.  The  victim  of  the  hero- 
ism died,  the  name  of  Jesus  on  his  lips.  The  wil- 
derness gave  him  a  grave,  the  Huron  nation  were  his 
mourners."  *  It  was  in  the  Octave  of  the  Visitation 
of  Mary,  Mother  of  God. 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  139. 

5 


66  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Noel  Chabanel  receives  his  death-blow  upon  the 
banks  of  a  stream  near  St.  Mary's,  from  the  axe  of 
an  apostate  Huron,  on  the  8th  of  December,  the 
Feast  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.*  Rene  Goupil, 
so-  livid  and  mashed  with  club  bruises  that  his  fea- 
tures were  undistinguishable,  had  his  thumbs  cut  oft" 
while  repeating  "Jesus,  Mary,  Joseph."  Tied  to 
the  ground  upon  his  back,  at  night  the  savage  boys 
poured  coals  upon  his  breast  until  his  flesh  was 
charred.  Six  days  tormented  thus,  he  and  his  com- 
panion, Father  Jogues,  too  weak  to  escape,  were  left 
at  liberty.  But  one  day,  when  they  had  retired  apart 
to  pray,  two  young  men  followed  and  ordered  them 
back.  "  Dear  brother,"  said  the  Father,  "  let  us 
recommend  ourselves  to  our  Lord,  and  to  our  good 
Mother,  the  Blessed  Virgin,  for  these  men  have  some 
evil  design."  They  walked  back,  telling  the  beads 
of  their  rosary.  They  had  said  four  decades,  when  a 
tomahawk  crashed  into  the  brain  of  Rene",  and  he 
died,  uttering  the  holy  name  of  Jesus,  f 

Bressani  (1644),  captured  by  the  Iroquois,  marched, 
chained,  in  their  procession,  whereof  the  banner  was 
the  head  of  a  Huron  Catholic,  whose  heart  he  saw 
torn  from  the  body  to  be  eaten  in  bravado,  —  marched 
fearlessly  in  that  dread  procession  ;  for  "  I  was  filled," 
he  says,  "  with  confidence  in  the  intercession  of  the 
Holy  Virgin.".  Six  days  they  advanced  through  the 
forest,  he  being  compelled  to  act  as  their  slave,  fetch- 

*  Marie  de  1'Incarnation,  p.  148. 

t  Shea's  Narrative  of  the  Captivity  of  Jogues. 


LABORS    OF    THE    EARLY  JESUIT    FATHERS.         67 

ing  the  wood  and  water  for  the  night  encampments, 
cooking  for  his  savage  captors,  and  repaid  by  blows. 
He  slept,  tied  to  a  tree,  uncovered,  in  the  night  air 
of  the  early  northern  April.  Ai'rived  at  the  village, 
they  prepared  him  for  running  the  gantlet,  by  split- 
ting his  hand  up  between  the  ring  and  little  fingers, 
and  then  beat  him,  as  he  moved  between  their  bar- 
barous lines.  They  forced  him  then  to  dance  and 
sing  for  hours ;  they  ran  splinters  into  his  flesh,  and 
burned  him  with  brands  ;  they  covered  sharp  points 
with  hot  ashes,  and  compelled  him  to  walk  thereon  ; 
they  tore  out  all  the  nails  of  his  fingers  with  pincers, 
or  with  savage  teeth.  One  night  they  would  tear  out 
a  nail,  the  next,  cut  off  or  burn  a  joint ;  and  all  this, 
and  more,  lasted  for  a  month.  His  wounds  at  length 
swarmed  with  worms,  and  he  could  say,  with  holy 
Job,  xvii.  14,  "  Unto  rottenness,  thou  art  my  father ; 
unto  worms,  ye  are  my  mother  and  my  sisters." 

Finally,  the  sentence  was  passed,  that  what  life 
lingered  in  him,  it  should  be  burned  out  at  the  stake  ; 
and  then  he  says,  "  I  prepared  my  soul,  and  com- 
mended myself  unto  the  Mother  of  Mercy,  who  is,  in 
truth,  the  Mother  most  amiable,  most  admirable, 
most  powerful,  most  clement,  and  the  consoler  of  the 
afflicted.  She,  after  God,  was  the  only  refuge  of  me, 
a  poor  sinner,  abandoned  by  all  creatures,  in  a  strange 
land."  *  Then  they  reversed  the  death  sentence. 
"  For  such."  he  says  again,  "  was  the  will  of  God 
and  of  the  Virgin  Mother.  To  her  I  owe,  not  my 

*  Bressani,  Relation,  pp.  116-139. 


68  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

life  only,  but  the  strength  to  support  my  pain."  It 
was  the  Hollanders  of  New  York  who  saved  him  at 
length,  purchasing  him  from  the  barbarians  for  some 
forty  dollars,  and  he  says,  "  I  sang  with  the  Israel- 
ites" (Ps.  cxiii.)  "my  coming  out  of  Egypt  on  the 
i9th  of  August,  in  the  Octave  of  the  Assumption  of 
the  Virgin,  whom  I  consider  the  bestower  of  my 
freedom." 

Well,  this  at  least  was  enough  for  one  man !  he 
surely  left  his  mission !  On  the  contrary,  the  same 
year  saw  him  on  his  way  to  the  Hurons.  Four  times 
he  made  that  voyage,  and  thrice  he  fell  into  the  same 
bloody  hands,  and  was  covered  anew  with  wounds, 
yet  God  and  our  Lady  delivered  him  out  of  all. 
What  wonder  •  that  those  mutilated  hands  can  record 
among  the  reverers  of  Blessed  Mary,  as  the  fruits  of 
thirteen  years,  Twelve  Thousand  Indians! 

There  was  yet  another  of  these  missionary  priests, 
the  last  we  shall  cite,  who  came  in  1625,  and  won 
the  crimson  crown  of  martyrdom.  When  he  came 
to  the  Hurons,  he  found  not  a  single  Christian  ;  when 
he  left  them  for  eternal  glory,  they  numbered  eight 
thousand.  It  was  the  noble  Jean  de  Brebceuf,  the 
heroic,  impassioned  servant  of  Mary.  It  was  he 
who  "  once,  imparadised  in  a  trance,  beheld  the 
Mother  of  Him  whose  cross  he  bore,  surrounded  by 
a  crowd  of  virgins,  in  the  beatitudes  of  heaven."  * 

This  was  his  vow  :  "  What  shall  I  render  to  Thee, 
O  my  Lord  Jesus,  for  all  that  I  have  received  from 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  iii.  124. 


LABORS    OF   THE    EARLY  JESUIT    FATHERS.        69 

Thee?  I  will  accept  Thy  chalice;  Twill  call  upon 
Thy  name.  And  now  I  vow,  in  presence  of  Thine 
Eternal  Father,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  presence 
of  Thy  most  holy  Mother ;  before  the  angels,  the 
apostles,  and  the  martyrs,  my  sainted  fathers,  Igna- 
tius and  Francis  Xavier,  that  if,  in  Thy  meixy,  Thou 
shalt  ever  offer  unto  me,  Thy  unworthy  servant,  the 
grace  of  martyrdom,  I  will  not  refuse  it.  So  that  if 
any  occasion  to  die  for  Thee  occur,  I  promise  not  to 
shun  it  (unless  Thy  greater  glory  so  demand),  and 
even  to  receive  the  mortal  blow  with  joy.  Now, 
from  this  hour,  I  offer  unto  Thee,  with  all  my  will, 
O  Thou  my  Jesus,  my  body,  my  blood,  my  soul,  so 
that,  by  Thy  permission,  I  may  die  for  Thee,  who 
hast  deigned  to  die  for  me.  So  let  me  live  that  I 
may  merit  such  a  death  !  So,  Lord,  will  I  accept 
Thy  chalice,  and  invoke  Thy  name,  O  Jesus,  Jesus, 
Jesus."  * 

St.  Louis,  St.  Mary's,  and  Conception  were  attacked 
by  a  thousand  Iroquois  in  the  winter  of  1649.  Among 
the  prisoners  taken  was  John  de  Brebceuf,  who,  when 
seeing  the  stake  destined  for  his  torture,  kissed  it 
with  respect.  So  earnestly  did  he  exhort  his  com- 
panions to  be  firm,  that  the  brutal  savages,  in  anger, 
cut  oft'  his  lips  and  tongue.  Continuing  still  his  ex- 
hortation by  signs,  they  gave  him  the  first  preference 
in  the  torture.  "  Thou  wert  wont,"  they  said  to  him, 
"  to  tell  others  that  the  more  they  suffered  here,  the 
greater  would  be  their  recompense  in  the  new  life. 

*  Relation  de  Bressani,  p.  260. 


7<3  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Now,  thank  us,  for  we  only  brighten  thy  crown." 
Then,  having  made  a  necklace  of  red-hot  hatchet- 
heads,  they  hung  it  about  his  neck.  In  mockery  of 
baptism,  they  poured  boiling  water  upon  his  head. 
They  pierced  his  hands  and  breast  with  red-hot 
irons  ;  they  tore  his  flesh  away  in  strips  ;  they  cut  his 
scalp  into  the  semblance  of  a  crown,  then  tore  it 
from  his  head.  He  was  a  strong  man,  yet  he  died  in 
three  hours,  while  his  comrade,  Gabriel  Lallemant, 
young,  delicate,  and  frail,  lived  seventeen.  Yet  his 
first  torture  was  to  be  stripped,  enveloped  from 
head  to  foot  in  bark,  saturated  with  rosin,  and  set 
on  fire.* 

With  this  brief  sketch  of  the  last  days  of  the  he- 
roic martyred  Breboeuf,  whose  memoir  will  be  found 
more  in  detail  elsewhere,  f  we  will  conclude,  with 
the  historian  of  the  missions :  J  "  Fain  would  we 
pause  to  follow  each  in  his  labors,  his  trials,  and  his 
toils  ;  recount  their  dangers  from  the  heathen  Huron, 
the  skulking  Iroquois,  the  frozen  river,  hunger,  cold, 
and  accident ;  to  show  Gamier  wrestling  with  the 
floating  ice,  through  which  he  sunk,  on  an  errand  of 
mercy ;  Chabanel,  struggling  on  for  years  in  a  mis- 
sion from  which  every  fibre  of  his  frame  shrunk  with 
loathing ;  Chaumonot,  compiling  his  Indian  gram- 
mar, ou  the  frozen  earth ;  or  the  heroic  Breboeuf, 
paralyzed  by  a  fall,  with  his  collar-bone  broken, 


*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  iii.  140. 

t  Catholic  World,  August,  1871. 

J  Shea,  History  of  Catholic  Missions,  p.  183. 


LABORS    OF    THE    EARLY   JESUIT    FATHERS.         Jl 

creeping  on  his  hands  and  feet,  along  the  frozen  road, 
and  sleeping,  unsheltered,  on  the  snow,  when  the 
very  trees  were  splitting  with  cold." 

But  we  must  turn  from  these  advance  guards  of 
God's  army  in  North  America,  to  the  secular  and 
regular  clergy,  bishop,  and  priest  who  are  in  the 
heat  of  the  fight,  —  who  live  to  battle  in  the  day 
we  live. 

Bancroft,  the  historian,  to  whose  testimony  we 
have  more  than  once  referred,  after  a  tribute  to  the 
zeal  of  the  missionary,  says  :  "  And  yet  the  simplicity 
and  the  freedom  of  life  in  the  wilderness  had  its 
charms.  The  heart  of  the  missionary  would  swell 
with  delight  as,  under  a  serene  sky,  and  with  a  mild 
temperature,  and  breathing  a  pure  air,  he  moved  over 
waters  as  transparent  as  the  most  liquid  fountain. 
Every  encampment  offered  his  attendants  the  pleas- 
ures of  the  chase.  Like  a  patriarch,  he  dwelt  be- 
neath a  tent ;  and  of  the  land  through  which  he 
walked  he  was  its  master,  in  the  length  of  it  and  in 
the  breadth  of  it,  profiting  by  its  productions  without 
the  embarrassment  of  ownership.  How  often  was 
the  pillow  of  stones  like  that  where  Jacob  felt  the 
presence  of  God !  How  often  did  the  aged  oak, 
whereof  the  centuries  were  untold,  seem  like  the  tree 
of  Mamre,  beneath  which  Abraham  broke  bread 
with  angels  !  Each  day  gave  the  pilgrim  a  new  site 
for  his  dwelling,  which  the  industry  of  a  few  mo- 
ments could  erect,  and  for  which  nature  supplied  a 
floor  of  green,  inlaid  with  flowers.  On  every  side 


72  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

clustered  beauties,  which  art  had  not  spoiled,  and 
could  not  imitate."  * 

"  He  has  the  rough,  hearty  life  of  a  soldier,  and 
the  triumph  of  the  discoverer ;  and  he  has  to  teach 
the  true  God  to  those  who  have  worshipped  demons,  f 
But  the  priests,  in  the  midst  of  a  more  or  less  perfect 
civilization,  have  not  this.  Their  fight  is  against  the 
vices  of  civilization,  very  unpoetic,  very  unromantic ; 
against  the  love  of  money,  the  cheatery  of  trade,  the 
permitted  dishonor  and  dishonesty  of  the  world ; 
against  the  influence  of  the  drinking-shop  and  the 
low  gambling-table  ;  against  the  serpent  of  liberalism 
and  godlessness  :  against  the  temptations  of  impurity 
and  false  doctrine  ;  against  the  ever-changing  phases 
of  sin  in  individuals ;  against  dangers  which  confer 
no  glory,  and  poverty  which  is  not  picturesque. 
They  are  in  the  heart  of  the  army,  in  the  midst  of 
the  ranks ;  they  are  the  unnoticed  fighters,  who  fall, 
and  are  succeeded  by  others,  who  fall  in  turn ;  who 
combat,  all  their  lives,  to  gain  one  foot  of  ground,  or, 
perhaps,  only  not  to  lose  one  foot ;  and  whose  record 
is  only  on  the  page  of  the  book  of  the  Great  King 
on  high. 

"  For  them  the  steaming  walls  of  the  hospital  re- 
place the  dark  green,  arching  aisles  of  the  stately,  im- 
memorial wood.  For  them  the  rush  and  roar  of  the 
hot  and  narrow  street  must  be  a  substitute  for  the 

*  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  iii.  153. 
t  Rev.  X.  D.  Macleod :  Devotion  to  the  B.  V.  Mary  in 
North  America,  chap.  i. 


LABORS    OF    THE    EARLY  JESUIT    FATHERS.         73 

fresh,  free  leap  of  the  wild  and  beautiful  river.  The 
skulking  convict  and  the  drunkard,  the  brazen  harlot 
and  the  apostate  Catholic,  must  be  their  dark-skinned 
warrior  tribe.  The  idols  they  must  shatter  are  the 
human  passions  ;  the  temples  they  must  renovate  are 
human  hearts." 


INTRODUCTION  AND  PROGRESS  OF  THE 
CHURCH   IN  BOSTON. 

UNDER  the  strict  rule  of  Puritanism,  Catholics  were 
so  closely  prohibited,  that  none  entered  the  colony  as 
voluntary  immigrants ;  some  poor  natives  of  Ireland 
were  sold  there  as  slaves ;  some,  at  a  later  period, 
came  as  redemptioners.  From  a  letter  addressed  by 
Villebone  to  the  home  government,  in  1698,  it  would 
seem  that  as  these  unfortunates  occasionally  visited 
the  French  settlements  as  sailors  or  servants,  their 
first  question  was  for  a  priest,  for  the  French  com- 
mander asked  for  an  Irish  priest,  to  be  stationed  at 
St.  John's,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Catholics  of  Boston.* 

This  is  the  last  we  hear  of  these  poor  children  of 
the  Faith,  till,  in  1756,  Colonel  Winslow  and  Captain 
Mallay  of  New  England,  by  order  of  government, 
carried  off  fifteen  thousand  Acadians,  or  French 
inhabitants  of  Nova  Scotia,  after  taking  them  by 
surprise,  burning  their  village  and  farm-houses,  and 
plundering  them  of  everything.  Most  of  these  people 
were  landed  at  various  points  on  the  coast  in  a  state 
of  utter  destitution.  Many  of  them  were  left  in 
Massachusetts,  and  at  other  points  of  New  England. 
Men  reduced  from  a  state  of  ease  and  competence, 

*  Paris  Doc.  (Boston),  iii.  371. 

74 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.  75 

they. disdained  to  become  menials,  and  claimed  their 
rights  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  were  quartered  on  the 
towns  as  paupers.  The  law  prevented  any  priest 
from  entering  the  colony,  and  so  their  prayer  for  one 
to  bend  over  their  dying  kindred,  was  rejected  with 
scorn  by  men  who  boasted  of  a  purer  faith  !  and  who, 
year  after  year,  tell  us  in  their  histories  that  the  "  Neu- 
trals," as  they  were  called,  were  "  still  ignorant,  big- 
oted Catholics,  broken-spirited,  poor,  and  ignorant."  * 

Of  these  many  died  of  misery,  leaving  their  chil- 
dren to  be  brought  up  by  men  who  spoke  in  a  foreign 
language,  and  professed  a  foreign  creed ;  others  re- 
turned to  Nova  Scotia,  or  reached  Canada,  or  Mada- 
waska,  where  they  founded  a  settlement,  which  still 
subsists ;  others  sailed  to  France,  the  West  Indies, 
or  Louisiana,  founding  in  the  latter  colony  a  new 
Acadia.f 

Long  justified  by  the  oppressors,  this  act  was  first 
held  up  to  odium  by  a  woman,  and  now  that  our 
poet  Longfellow  has  embalmed  the  sufferings  of  these 
poor  Catholics  in  undying  verse,  even  historians  must 
blush  to  record  the  deeds  of  a  Winslow. 

A  few  Catholics  may  have  gathered  at  Boston,  or 
been  scattered  through  the  country,  but  under  the 
penal  laws,  deprived  of  all  religious  instruction,  their 

*  This  is  the  language  of  Williamson's  History  of  Maine, 
published  (credat  Judzeus  Apella)  in  the  year  of  grace  1835. 

t  Garneau's  Canada.  Some  facts  may  be  found  in  Mrs. 
Williamson's  Neutral  French,  preface  and  appendix;  the 
more  curious  from  the  queer  bigotry  of  the  amiable  writer. 
See,  also,  Walsh's  Appeal  from  the  Judgment  of  Great 
Britain,  p.  437. 


76  SKETCHES,   ETC. 

children  grew  up  Protestants.  Among  these  we  must 
number  General  Sullivan,  whose  name  is  blended 
with  so  many  hard-fought  battles  of  our  Revolution, 
but  whose  Catholic  parents  seem  never  to  have  taught 
him  to  lisp  the  name  of  Mary. 

With  the  Revolution,  however,  a  change  came. 
Washington,  the  long-to-be-remembered  Father  of 
his  country,  unused  to  the  bigotry  of  the  north,  had 
scarcely  appeared  in  the  camp  at  Boston,  when  he 
found  preparations  on  foot  for  burning  the  Pope  in 
effigy.  His  order  shows  at  once  his  mode  of  viewing 
the  matter :  — 

"November  5th.  As  the  Commandei'-in-chief  has 
been  apprised  of  a  design  formed  for  the  observance 
of  that  ridiculous  and  childish  custom  of  burning  the 
effigy  of  the  Pope,  he  cannot  help  expressing  his  sur- 
prise that  there  should  be  officers  and  soldiers  in  this 
army  so  void  of  common  sense  as  not  to  see  the  im- 
propriety of  such  a  step  at  this  juncture  ;  at  a  time 
when  we  are  soliciting,  and  have  really  obtained, 
the  friendship  and  alliance  of  the  people  of  Canada, 
whom  we  ought  to  consider  as  brethren  embarked  in 
the  same  cause,  —  the  defence  of  the  liberty  of  Amer- 
ica. At  this  juncture,  and  under  such  circumstances, 
to  be  insulting  their  religion,  is  so  monstrous  as  not  to 
be  suffered  or  excused ;  indeed,  instead  of  offering 
the  most  remote  insult,  it  is  our  duty  to  address  pub- 
lic thanks  to  these  our  brethren,  as  to  them  we  are 
indebted  for  every  late  happy  success  over  the  com- 
mon enemy  in  Canada."  * 

*  Washington's  Writings,  iii.  144.  See  U.  S.  Catholic 
Magazine,  viii.  85. 


PROGRESS    OK    THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.  77 

Thus  discouraged,  the  silly  custom  was  suppressed 
in  the  camp,  but  still  held  undisputed  sway  in  the 
towns  and  cities. 

Washington  wrote,  about  this  time,  to  the  Catholic 
Indian  tribes  in  Maine,  inviting  the  Penobscots,  Pas- 
samaquoddies,  and  St.  John's,  to  join  the  cause  of 
freedom.  Delegates  of  those  tribes  at  once  set  out  to 
confer  with  the  Massachusetts  council,  which  met 
them  at  Watertown.  Ambrose  Var,  the  chief  of  the 
Indians  from  the  St.  John's,  was  the  spokesman  ;  he 
was  a  Catholic  —  a  man  of  deep  religious  feeling. 
"  We  are  thankful  to  the  Almighty  to  see  the  coun- 
cil," is  his  salute. 

Convinced  by  the  arguments  adduced  by  the  dele- 
gates of  Massachusetts  to  show  the  justice  of  their 
cause,  these  Indians  promised  to  adhere  to  the  Amer- 
icans in  the  coming  struggle,  and  aid  them  to  the  best 
of  their  power.  They  made  but  one  request :  "  We 
want  a  black-gown,  or  French  priest.  Jesus  we  pray 
to,  and  we  will  not  hear  any  prayer  that  comes  from 
Old  England." 

The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  expressed  its 
satisfaction  at  their  respect  for  religion,  and  declared 
themselves  ready  to  get  a  French  priest ;  but  truly 
added  that  they  did  not  know  where  to  find  one. 
The  Penobscots  followed  the  example  of  the  Pas- 
samaquoddies  and  other  eastern  tribes ;  they,  too, 
joined  the  Americans,  but  a  priest  should  accompany 
them,  was  their  request ;  and  they,  too,  obtained  the 
promise  of  one  from  the  very  body  which  had  made 
the  missionaries'  life  treason,  and  scarce  fifty  years 


78  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

before  tracked  one  to  death  like  a  wild  beast  of  the 
forest. 

The  Indians  joined  the  American  cause  sincerely. 
How  important  their  accession  was,  we  may  judge 
from  the  words  of  the  historian  Williamson.* 

Numbers  of  the  Abenakis  joined  the  American 
army,  and  Orono,  the  Penobscot  chief,  bore  a  com- 
mission, which  he  ennobled  by  his  virtues  and  bra- 
very. They  had  long  been  without  a  priest,  but  their 
church  still  remained,  to  maintain  their  faith.  This, 
at  length,  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  English,  who  destroyed 
it  during  the  war.  But  the  Penobscots  never  wavered 
in  their  faith.  In  all  his  changes,  from  the  forest  and 
wigwam  to  the  camp  and  the  city,  from  the  society 
of  the  Catholic  children  of  the  forest  to  that  of  the 
more  polished  Congregationalist  of  New  England, 
Orono  was  ever  faithful  to  his  religion.  When  urged 
to  frequent  Protestant  place's  of  worship,  as  he  had 
no  longer  any  of  his  own,  he  exclaimed,  "  We  know 
our  religion  and  love  it ;  we  know  nothing  of  yours." 

Soon,  too,  the  alliance  with  France  brought  whole 
Catholic  fleets  and  armies  across  the  Atlantic.  Count 
d'Estaing  entered  the  harbor  of  Boston  on  the  25th 
of  August,  1778,  and  remained  till  November.  Dur- 
ing this  interval  many  of  the  Boston  people  witnessed 
divine  service  performed  for  the  fleet,  and  were  favor- 
ably impressed  with  the  piety  and  respect  of  the 
officers  and  crew. 

When  the  fleet  arrived  at  Newport,  Rhode  Island 

*  See  authorities  in  Shea's  History  of  the  Catholic  Mis- 
sions, 155. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.  79 

hastened   to  wipe  off  her   statute   book   the   clause 
excluding  Catholics.* 

At  Boston,  too,  either  on  the  occasion  of  the  fes- 
tival of  All-Souls,  or  on  the  death  of  some  officer,  a 
funeral  procession  traversed  the  streets  with  a  crucifix 
at  its  head,  and  priests  solemnly  chanting,  while  the 
selectmen  of  Boston  joined  in  the  ceremony,  giving 
this  public  mark  of  respect  for  the  faith  of  their 
allies.f 

*  Williamson's  History  of  Maine. 
t  U.  S.  Catholic  Magazine,  viii.  246. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  FIRST  CATHOLIC 
CHURCH   IN  BOSTON. 

WHEN  the  Revolutionary  War  had  been  brought 
to  its  happy  termination,  and  the  United  States  of 
America  had  gained  their  independence,  there  were 
in  Boston  a  few  Frenchmen  and  Spaniards,  and 
about  thirty  Irishmen,  among  whom  a  clergyman, 
who  had  been  chaplain  of  the  French  navy,  resolved 
to  settle.  His  name  was  Claude  Florent  Bouchard  de 
la  Porterie ;  but  his  stay,  however,  was  limited,  as  in 
1790  he  left  for  the  West  Indies.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Louis  Rousselet,  another  clergyman,  origi- 
nally from  France,  who  also,  soon  after  the  arrival 
of  an  English  speaking  successor,  set  out  for  the 
same  destination.  This  was  Rev.  John  Thayer,  who 
was  born  in  Boston,  and  belonged,  through  his  father 
Cornelius,  to  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  wide-spread 
families  in  Massachusetts.* 

*  See  Family  Memorial,  by  Ezra  Thayer.  He  speaks  of 
the  illustrious  convert  on  page  125. 

80 


PROG  HESS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   BOSTON.         8 1 

Like  many  others  of  his  family,  he  studied  for 
the  church,  and  became  a  Congregational  minister. 
From  the  position  of  his  family  he  was  soon  made 
chaplain  to  the  Governor,  but  had  not  been  two 
years  in  the  ministry  when  God  called  on  him  to 
leave  his  country  and  home.  By  the  signal  mercy 
of  Heaven  he  was  to  be  led  to  a  distant  land,  to  bow 
in  humble  and  sincere  faith  to  the  Church  of  God, 
which  his  ill-starred  ancestors  had  forsaken  to  grope 
in  the  maze  of  man-made  creeds. 

"  I  felt  a  secret  inclination  to  travel,"  he  says,  in 
an  account  which  he  published  after  his  conversion. 
"  I  nourished  the  desire  and  formed  a  resolution  of 
passing  into  Europe,  to  learn  the  languages  which 
are  most  in  use,  and  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the 
constitution  of  states,  of  the  manners,  distorts,  laws, 
and  governments  of  the  principal  nations,  in  order 
to  acquire,  by  this  political  knowledge,  a  greater 
consequence  in  my  own  country,  and  thus  become 
more  useful  to  it.  Such  were  my  human  views, 
without  the  least  suspicion  of  the  secret  designs  of 
Providence,  which  was  preparing  for  me  more  pre- 
cious advantages." 

He  sailed  for  France  in  1781.  Shortly  after  his 
arrival  he  was  taken  sick,  and  so  strongly  was  he 
attached  to  his  sect,  that  he  gave  orders  that  no 
priest  should  be  admitted  into  his  room.  After  his 
recovery  he  passed  over  to  England,  where  he  spent 
three  months.  He  was  there  asked  to  preach,  and 
accepted  the  invitation  ;  but  his  doctrine  was  found 
not  to  be  conformable  to  that  of  the  country  where 
6 


82  SKETCHES,   ETC. 

he  was.     He  justified   himself,  by  stating  that  he 
had  drawn  it  from  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

Mr.  Thayer  had  nourished  a  bitter  prejudice 
against  Catholicity,  and  the  nations  who  professed 
it ;  hence  the  Italians  were  to  him  objects  of  a  holy 
horror,  his  prepossessed  mind  viewing  them  in  the 
most  odious  light,  as  the  most  superstitious  of  men. 
However,  he  must  see  Rome,  that  great  metropolis  of 
the  arts  ;  he  must  visit  the  tombs  of  Virgil  and  Dante  ; 
he  must  drink  at  that  living  fountain  of  letters  and 
science.  In  his  passage  from  Marseilles  to  Rome, 
he  was  obliged  to  remain  several  days  in  a  small 
harbor,  called  Port  Creole.  The  Marquis  d'El- 
moro,  mayor  of  the  place,  received  him  with  frater- 
nal affection  and  kindness,  though  a  perfect  stran- 
ger. His  house,  his  table,  his  library,  all  were  at 
his  service.  At  his  departure  he  made  him  promise 
to  keep  a  continued  correspondence  with  him.  Mr. 
Thayer,  in  the  account  of  his  conversion,  to  which  we 
have  alluded,  and  from  which  we  glean  these  facts, 
tells  us  that  he  afterwards  met  with  many  Italians 
whose  kindness  and  cordiality  towards  a  stranger 
and  a  Protestant,  dispelled  the  bitterness  of  his 
early  prejudice,  and  prepared  his  soul  to  receive  the 
light.  As  soon  as  he  entered  Rome,  his  first  desire 
was  to  visit  the  principal  monuments  of  antiquity 
which  are  attractive  to  strangers.  The  Rotunda  or 
Pantheon,  a  temple  formerly  consecrated  to  the 
worship  of  all  the  heathen  deities,  and  now  dedi- 
cated to  the  ONE  GOD,  under  the  invocation  of  the 
Virgin  Mother  and  ALL  the  Saints,  was  in  an  espe- 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH   IN    BOSTON.         83 

cial  manner  the  object  of  his  admiration.  While 
he  regretted  that  the  superstitions  of  Catholics 
should  have  entered  it,  the  sublime  thought  of  ele- 
vating the  Crucified  over  the  idols  of  the  nations, 
and  establishing  the  empire  of  God  on  the  ruins  of 
the  kingdom  of  the  "  strong  one  armed,"  seemed  to 
him  to  be  truly  heavenly,  and  in  the  fervor  of  his 
heart  he  prayed  for  the  benighted  men  who  knew 
not  the  true  gospel  of  Christ,  and  remained  plunged 
in  the  darkness  of  former  errors. 

He  had  of  the  Jesuits  the  opinion  entertained  by 
many  Protestants,  deeming  them  men  of  deep  cun- 
ning, political  craft,  and  subtle  reasoning.  He  had 
never  seen  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Jesus,  and 
knew  the  Jesuits  but  from  the  calumnies  of  their 
enemies.  While  visiting  some  of  the  public  monu- 
ments, he  met  two  ecclesiastics  whose  simplicity  and 
conversational  charms  pleased  him  exceedingly,  and 
great  was  his  astonishment  when  they  told  him  they 
were  Jesuits.  The  Catholic  religion  was  soon  intro- 
duced as  the  subject  of  their  conversation  by  Mr. 
Thayer  himself,  who  wished  to  acquire  some  knowl- 
edge of  it,  as  he  would  have  desired  to  learn  what 
were  the  tenets  of  Mahometanism,  had  he  been  in 
Constantinople.  The  examination  of  the  dogmas 
of  the  Catholic  Church  was  long  and  serious ;  con- 
sidering, on  the  one  hand,  that  unerring  sameness 
through  ages  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  on  the  other, 
the  wavering  instability  of  all  the  Protestant  sects, 
he  became  convinced  that  Protestantism  was  not  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christ. 


84  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

One  obstacle  still  remained.  A  deeply  rooted 
prejudice  caused  him,  until  by  ocular  demonstra- 
tion it  was  removed,  to  disbelieve  in  miraculous 
events  since  the  days  of  the  apostles.  During  his 
stay  in  Rome,  the  venerable  Benedict  Labre  died  in 
the  odor  of  sanctity ;  poor  and  despised  during  his 
life,  this  pious  servant  of  God  was  glorified  after 
his  death.  Many  miracles,  well  attested  by  an  entire 
population,  were  wrought  through  his  intercession, 
to  several  of  which  Mr.  Thayer  was  himself  a  wit- 
ness. Convinced  of  the  truth,  he  still  hesitated, 
for  he  must  renounce  all  the  ambitious  projects  of  a 
bright  earthly  career,  dissolve  all  connection  with 
parents  and  friends,  who  would  despise  the  super- 
stitious papist,  forget  the  past,  and  begin  a  new  life, 
unlearn  all  he  had  been  taught,  and  subject  his  rea- 
son to  authority.  Faith,  however,  prevailed,  and  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  May,  1783,  he  abjured  Protestant- 
ism publicly,  and  before  a  large  assembly  of  former 
friends,  whom  he  had  invited  to  the  solemn  cer- 
emony. 

He  subsequently  concluded  to  embrace  the  eccle- 
siastical state,  being  fully  persuaded  that  he  was 
called  to  it  by  the  Almighty,  for  His  greater  glory, 
and  the  salvation  of  his  own  soul,  as  well  as  of  those 
of  his  own  countrymen.  He  returned  to  France, 
and  entered  that  eminent  school  of  learning  and 
piety,  St.  Sulpice  of  Paris,  that  has  given  to  the 
Church  so  many  pious  priests  and  pontiffs.  After 
due  preparation,  he  was  ordained  to  the  priest- 
hood, and  returned  to  America,  where  he  was  ap- 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.         85 

pointed,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Carroll,  to  the  mission 
of  Boston. 

At  that  time  Boston  contained  only  18,038  souls ; 
and  the  Catholic  portion  of  this  population  did  not 
exceed  one  hundred.  They  were  in  the  habit  of 
assembling  in  the  little  church  on  School  Street, 
formerly  occupied  by  a  congregation  of  Huguenots, 
which,  since  the  death  of  their  minister,  Mr.  Mer- 
cier,  had  dwindled  away  to  nothing. 

In  order  not  to  be  disturbed  or  molested,  under 
any  pretence,  in  the  exercise  of  his  ministry,  he 
obtained  a  lease  of  the  building  from  the  Perkins 
family,  to  whom  the  property  belonged.  Here  he 
continued  to  collect  his  little  flock,  who  were  over- 
joyed to  have  among  them  a  pastor  speaking  their 
own  language,  who  in  his  native  city  had  witnessed 
their  growth,  while  yet  he  knew  them  not,  and 
whom  their  religious  adversaries  respected  for  his 
independent  profession  of  a  faith  odious  to  many. 
His  reception  by  his  former  friends  and  acquain- 
tances, and  by  Protestants  in  general,  was  equally 
flattering  and  kind,  and  led  him  to  form  the  most 
favorable  anticipation  of  a  successful  ministry.  The 
following  letter,  written  to  a  friend  a  few  months 
after  his  arrival  in  Boston,  will  show  how  cordially 
he  was  greeted  by  all  classes  of  citizens  :  — 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND  :  I  reached  Boston  on  the 
4th  of  January  last,  and  have  everywhere  been 
received  with  the  most  flattering  attention.  My 
own  relatives  expressed  the  greatest  joy  at  my 


86  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

return.  The  Governor  of  the  State,  whose  chaplain 
I  formerly  was,  has  promised  to  do  all  in  his  power 
to  forward  my  views,  and  favor  the  work  for  which 
I  have  been  sent  to  Boston.  I  have  received  noth- 
ing but  kindness  and  attention  from  the  ministers  of 
the  town.  Many  of  them  have  visited  me,  and 
evinced  a  degree  of  cordiality  which  I  had  little 
reason  to  expect.  The  officers  of  the  custom-house 
have  also  carried  their  politeness  so  far  as  to  be 
unwilling  to  take  anything  for  the  many  large  boxes 
which  I  had  procured  from  France  and  England, 
having  looked  upon  their  contents  as  things  de- 
signed for  sacred  purposes. 

"  On  the  first  Sunday  after  my  arrival,  I  an- 
nounced the  word  of  God,  and  all  flocked  in  crowds 
to  hear  me.  A  great  degree  of  curiosity  is  mani- 
fested to  become  acquainted  with  our  belief,  and  the 
free  toleration  allowed  here  has  enabled  me  to  enter 
into  a  full  exposition  of  it.  But  I  was  not  long  in  a 
condition  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  and  eagerness  of 
the  people  of  Boston.  I  had  been  only  a  fortnight 
in  the  town,  when  it  pleased  Almighty  God  to  afflict 
me  with  a  sickness  that  kept  me  confined  to  my  bed 
for  a  month.  The  danger  appeared  to  me  so  seri- 
ous on  one  occasion,  that  I  requested  the  Holy 
Viaticum  of  a  French  clergyman  with  whom  I  am 
associated  in  the  work  of  the  Lord  and  of  His 
Church.  My  health  was  restored  by  degrees ;  and 
as  soon  as  I  had  recovered  sufficient  strength,  I 
availed  myself  of  the  privilege  allowed  me  to  cele- 
brate Mass  in  my  chamber.  When  my  health  was 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN   BOSTON.         87 

sufficiently  restored,  I  resumed  my  functions  of 
preaching,  confessing  and  visiting  the  few  sheep 
that  compose  our  little  flock. 

"  On  every  occasion  the  Protestants  evince  the 
same  eagerness  to  come  and  hear  me  ;  but  they  con- 
tent themselves  with  that.  The  indifference  and 
philosophy  which  prevail  here  as  much  as  any- 
where else,  are  an  obstacle  to  the  fruit  of  preaching, 
which  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  remove,  —  an 
obstacle,  however,  which  does  not  in  the  least  dis- 
courage me.  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving 
a  few  recantations,  and  our  dear  neophytes  afford 
me  great  consolation  by  the  sanctity  of  their  life. 
About  one  hundred  Catholics,  consisting  of  French, 
Irishmen,  and  Americans,  are  what  constitute  at 
present  our  Church.  About  a  dozen  of  them  can 
attend  Mass  daily.  I  am  engaged  in  instructing  a 
few  Protestants,  whom  I  hope  to  restore  shortly  to 
our  common  Mother.  I  recommend  our  mission 
most  earnestly  to  your  prayers.  We  are  in  want  of 
laborers  for  the  cultivation  of  the  immense  field 
which  has  been  so  long  abandoned  in  these  United 
States. 

(Signed.)  THAYER. 

"  BOSTON,  July  i7th,  1790." 

Our  apostolic  missionary  had  now  labored  ten 
months,  when,  in  the  ardor  of  his  zeal  for  the  con- 
version of  his  countrymen,  he  was  prompted  to 
publish  in  one  of  the  public  papers  the  following 
advertisement :  — 


88  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

"Mr.  Thayer,  Catholic  Priest  of  Boston,  fully 
persuaded  that  he  has  found  the  inestimable  treas- 
ure of  the  Gospel,  is  greatly  desirous  of  imparting 
it  to  his  dear  countrymen.  For  this  purpose,  he 
offers  to  preach  on  the  evenings  of  the  week-days  in 
any  of  .the  neighboring  towns.  If  any  persons  desire 
to  hear  the  exposition  of  the  Catholic  faith,  —  of 
which  the  majority  of  Americans  have  so  mistaken 
an  idea,  —  and  will  furnish  any  place  for  the  accom- 
modation of  hearers,  Mr.  Thayer  will  be  ever  ready 
to  attend  them.  He  will  also  undertake  to  answer 
ihe  objections  any  gentleman  would  wish  to  make, 
either  publicly  or  privately,  to  the  doctrine  he 
preaches." 

Shortly  after  the  above  advertisement,  a  Mr. 
George  Leslie,  a  Congregationalist  minister,  look- 
ing upon  it  as  a  challenge,  declared  that  he  would 
take  up  the  gauntlet,  which  he  attempted,  but  soon 
courage  failed  him,  and  he  was  silent. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1791,  Mr.  Thayer 
opened  a  series  of  controversial  lectures  in  his  little 
church  on  School  Street,  to  which  he  invited  all 
who  loved  the  truth,  and  sincerely  desired  salvation, 
that  they  might  hear  about  those  great  and  impor- 
tant things  which  hitherto  had  been  concealed  from 
them.  "  It  is  no  vain  presumption  in  my  own 
learning  or  abilities  that  prompts  me  to  this  step," 
says  Mr.  Thayer,  "  my  only  motive  is  the  glory  of 
God  in  the  salvation  of  souls.  My  entire  trust  is  in 
the  strength  of  my  Redeemer  and  the  goodness 
of  my  cause."  These  controversial  lectures  were 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.         89 

continued  twice  every  week,  and  the  church  was 
crowded  by  those  who,  through  curiosity  or  a 
desire  for  information,  came  to  hear  the  exposition 
of  Catholic  doctrines.  The  little  flock  now  began 
to  gain  some  consideration,  and  the  name  of  Cath- 
olic was  no  longer  synonymous  with  ignorance,  as  it 
had  been  in  past  days. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  enemies  of  the  Church  sent 
forth  every  now  and  then  some  new  pamphlet  or 
tract  to  revile  her  doctrines,  and  every  attack  was 
repelled  by  Mr.  Thayer  alone  and  single-handed ; 
and  as  he  never  suffered  any  argument  to  go  by  un- 
answered, he  effected  much  good,  among  those 
particularly  who  were  anxious  to  know  the  truth. 
The  ministers,  however,  for  the  most  part,  finding 
they  could  not  meet  successfully  the  arguments  of 
the  priest,  sought  by  ridicule  and  misrepresentation 
to  prevent  if  possible  the  people  from  embracing  the 
Catholic  faith,  or  even  from  examining  and  investi- 
gating its  true  principles ;  and  in  every  instance 
where  any  conversion  should  take  place  under  the 
preaching  of  Rev.  Mr.  Thayer,  to  use  every  effort 
to  deter  others  from  following  their  example,  by 
arming  their  own  relatives  against  them,  by  depriv- 
ing them  of  the  society  and  assistance  of  their 
friends,  and  striving  even  to  deprive  them  of  the 
means  of  obtaining  a  decent  maintenance  so  long  as 
they  should  persevere.  Discouraging  as  it  was  un- 
der such  circumstances  to  abjure  heresy  and  join 
the  Church,  yet  many  were  daily  added  to  the  fold. 


90  SKETCHES,  ETC. 

ADDITIONAL     LABORERS.  —  THE    ARRIVAL     OF 
REV.   DRS.   MATIGNON  AND   CIQUARD. 

The  French  Revolution  had  no*w  broken  out,  and 
thousands  of  the  best  clergy  of  France  were  exiled 
from  their  native  land.  Four  eminent  priests,  vic- 
tims of  the  same  persecution,  landed  together  in 
Baltimore  on  the  24th  of  June,  1792.  Rev.  Francis 
Matignon,  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  Col- 
lege of  Navarre ;  Rev.  Ambrose  Marechal,  Rev. 
Gabriel  Richard,  and  Rev.  Francis  Ciquard,  Di- 
rector of  the  Seminary  of  Bourges. 

Rejoiced  at  this  accession  to  his  clergy,  Bishop 
Carroll  resolved  to  send  two  of  them  to  New  Eng- 
land ;  one  to  Boston,  and  the  other  to  the  State  of 
Maine.  Dr.  Matignon  was  sent  to  Boston,  and 
begun  by  devoting  himself  to  the  study  of  English, 
entering  on  the  duties  of  the  ministry  on  the  2oth  of 
August,  1792. 

Dr.  Matignon  was  born  in  Paris  on  the  loth  of 
November,  1753.  Devoted  to  letters  and  to  religion 
from  his  earliest  youth,  his  progress  in  learning 
was  rapid  and  his  piety  truly  remarkable.  He 
attracted  the  notice  of  the  learned  faculty  as  he 
passed  through  the  several  grades  of  classical  and 
theological  studies,  in  the  last  of  which  he  was  un- 
der the  guidance  of  St.  Sulpice.  Having  taken  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Divinity,  he  was  ordained 
priest  on  Saturday,  September  10,  1778,  —  the  very 
day  of  the  month  and  week  which  forty  years  after 
was  to  be  his  last. 


REV.    DR.    MATIGXOX. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.          9! 

His  talents  and  his  piety  had  recommended  him 
to  the  notice  of  Cardinal  De  Brienne,- who  obtained 
for  him  from  the  king,  Louis  XVI.,  the  grant  of 
an  annuity,  which  was  sufficient  for  all  his  wants, 
established  him  in  independence,  and  took  away  all 
anxiety  for  the  future.  But  the  ways  of  Providence 
are  inscrutable  to  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  children 
of  men.  The  revolution  which  dethroned  his  be- 
loved monarch,  and  stained  the  altar  of  his  God 
with  the  blood  of  holy  men,  drove  Dr.  Matignon  an 
exile  from  his  native  shore.  He  fled  to  England, 
where  he  remained  a  few  months,  and  then  returned 
to  France,  to  prepare  for  a  voyage  to  the  United 
States. 

The  talents  of  Dr.  Matignon,  says  a  writer  who 
knew  him  well,  were  of  the  highest  order.  In  him 
were  united  a  sound  understanding,  a  rich  and  vigo- 
rous imagination,  and  logical  precision  of  thought. 
His  learning  was  extensive,  critical,  and  profound, 
and  all  his  productions  were  deeply  cast,  symmetri- 
cally formed,  and  deeply  colored.  The  early  fathers 
of  the  Church,  and  the  great  divines  of  every  age, 
were  his  familiar  friends.  His  divinity  was  not 
merely  speculative,  nor  merely  practical ;  it  was  the 
blended  influence  of  thought,  feeling,  and  action. 
The  wise  bowed  to  his  superior  knowledge,  and  the 
humble  caught  the  spirit  of  his  devotion.  In  man- 
ner he  was  an  accomplished  gentleman,  professing 
that  kindness  of  heart  and  delicacy  of  feeling  which 
made  him  study  the  wants  and  anticipate  the  wishes 
of  all  he  knew.  Born  and  educated  in  the  bosom 


92  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

of  refinement,  he  had  associated  with  chevalier  and 
nobles,  had  been  the  friend  of  cardinals,  prelates, 
and  premiers.  Amenity  and  urbanity  has  at  all 
times  been  a  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the 
French  people,  and  the  clergy  of  France  has  at  all 
times  been  the  flower  and  pride  of  the  nation.  And 
their  scrupulous  fidelity  to  the  social  observances, 
and  to  those  duties  which  man  owes  to  his  fellow- 
man,  was  but  a  natural  consequence  of  their  fidelity 
to  their  duties  towards  their  God  and  their  faith ; 
fidelity  that  made  them  suffer  cheerfully  everything 
for  Christ,  the  loss  of  their  wealth,  of  their  good 
name,  even  of  their  life ;  and  in  the  days  of  the 
monster  persecution  of  infidel  philosophy,  of  one 
hundred  and  forty  bishops  of  France,  but  four  were 
found  wanting  in  integrity  and  good  faith. 

When  Dr.  Matignon  came  to  Boston  new  trials 
awaited  him.  He  found  the  people  of  New  Eng- 
land more  than  suspicious  about  the  great  designs 
he  had  in  view.  Absurd  and  foolish  legends  of  the 
Pope  and  Popery  had  been  handed  down  from 
father  to  son  since  the  first  colonization  of  New 
England,  and  a  prejudice  of  undefined  and  unde- 
finable  dislike,  if  not  hatred,  to  everything  con- 
nected with  Rome,  reigned  supreme  in  the  minds 
of  the  Puritan  community.  It  required  a  thorough 
acquaintance  with  the  world  to  know  precisely  how 
to  meet  these  sentiments  of  a  whole  people.  Vio- 
lence and  indisci'etion  would  have  destroyed  all 
hopes  of  success ;  ignorance  would  have  exposed 
the  cause  to  sarcasm  and  contempt ;  and  enthusi- 


PROGRESS    OF   THE   CHURCH    IN    BOSTOX.         93 

asm  too  manifest  would  have  produced  a  reaction 
that  would  have  ruined  the  infant  establishment. 
Dr.  Matignon  was  exactly  fitted  to  encounter  all 
these  difficulties ;  and  he  saw  them,  and  knew  the 
extent  of  his  task.  With  meekness  and  humility  he 
disarmed  the  proud  ;  with  prudence,  learning,  and 
wisdom  he  met  the  captious  and  slanderous ;  and 
so  gentle  and  so  just  was  his  course,  that  even  the 
censorious  forgot  to  watch  him,  and  the  malicious 
were  too  cunning  to  attack  one  armed  so  strong  in 
his  poverty. 

Rev.  Mr.  Thayer  rejoiced  at  the  acquisition  of  a 
co-operator  of  such  merit,  and  already  began  to 
anticipate  from  his  superior  learning  and  piety  the 
most  favorable  results  to  the  rising  Church  in  Bos- 
ton. He  received  him  in  his  humble  mansion  as  an 
angel  from  heaven  sent  expressly  to  promote  the 
great  cause  of  the  Redeemer  by  extending  His 
Church  in  this  new  section. 

The  destination  of  Rev.  Mr.  Ciquard  was  differ- 
ent ;  his  mission  was  to  the  Indians  of  Maine.  The 
Kennebec  tribe  had  dwindled  away  by  emigration, 
disease,  and  war ;  but  the  Penobscots,  Passamaquod- 
dies.  and  the  Indians  of  St.  John  were  still  numerous. 
Although  destitute  of  missionaries,  since  the  with- 
drawal of  their  last  spiritual  guide,  —  Father  Ger- 
main,—  they  liad  still  clung  to  their  faith,  and  on 
joining  the  Americans  in  the  revolution,  solicited  a 
priest.  Hearing  that  there  was  a  black-gown  at 
Boston,  they  wrote  to  Father  Thayer,  through  their 
agent,  Mr.  Allen  ;  and  this  letter,  shown  to  Bishop 


94  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Carroll  on  his  visit,  first  informed  him  of  the  exist- 
ence of  those  of  his  children  in  Maine.  Soon  after 
his  return  to  Baltimore,  he  received  a  crucifix  from 
them,  a  relic  of  one  of  their  former  missionaries, 
and  another  letter  imploring  a  priest. 

The  reply  of  the  Bishop  was  as  follows  :  — 

"  BRETHREN  AND  BELOVED  CHILDREN  IN  JE- 
SUS CHRIST  :  I  received  with  the  greatest  plea- 
sure the  testimony  of  your  attachment  to  your 
holy  religion,  and  I  venerate  it,  the  sacred  crucifix 
sent  by  you  as  expressive  of  your  faith. 

"  Brethren  and  Children :  I  embrace  you  with 
the  affection  of  a  father,  and  am  exceedingly  desir- 
ous to  procure  for  you  a  worthy  teacher  and  min- 
ister of  God's  holy  sanctuary,  who  may  administer 
to  your  young  people,  to  your  sons  and  daughters, 
the  sacrament  of  baptism,  and  instruct  them  and 
you  in  the  law  of  God  and  the  exercise  of  a  Chris- 
tian life,  —  may  reconcile  you  to  your  Lord  and 
Maker,  after  all  your  transgressions,  and  may  per- 
form for  your  women  after  child-bearing  the  rites 
ordained  by  the  Church  of  Christ. 

"  Brethren  and  Beloved  Children :  As  soon  as  I 
received  your  request,  and  was  informed  of  your 
necessity,  I  sent  for  one  or  two  virtuous  and  worthy 
priests  to  go  and  remain  with  you,  that  you  may 
never  more  be  reduced  to  the  same  distressful  situ- 
ation in  which  you  have  lived  so  long ;  but  as  they 
are  far  distant,  I  am  afraid  they  will  not  be  with  you 
before  the  putting  out  of  the  leaves  again.  This 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.          95 

should  have  been  done  much  sooner  if  I  had  been 
informed  of  your  situation.  You  may  depend  upon 
it  that  you  shall  always  be  in  my  heart,  and  in  my 
mind ;  and  if  it  please  God  to  give  me  the  time,  I 
shall  certainly  visit  you  myself. 

"  Brethren  and  beloved  Children :  I  trust  in  that 
good  God  who  made  us  all,  and  in  His  blessed  Son 
Jesus  Christ,  who  redeemed  us,  that  all  the  Indians, 
northward  and  eastward,  will  be  made  partakers  of 
the  blessing  which  my  desire  is  to  procure  for  you  ; 
and  I  rejoice  very  much  that  you  and  they  wish  to 
be  united  to  your  brethren,  the  Americans.  You 
have  done  very  well  not  to  receive  amongst  you 
those  ministers  who  go  without  being  called  or  sent 
by  that  authority  which  Jesus  Christ  has  established 
for  the  government  of  His  Church.  Those  whom 
I  shall  send  you  will  be  such  good  and  virtuous 
priests  as  instructed  your  fathers  in  the  law  of  God, 
and  taught  them  to  regard  this  life  only  as  a  prepa- 
ration for,  and  a  passage  to  a  better  life  in  heaven. 

"  In  token  of  my  fatherly  love  and  sincere  affec- 
tion, I  send  back  to  you  after  embracing  it,  the  holy 
crucifix  which  I  received  with  your  letter,  and  I 
enclose  it  in  a  picture  from  our  Holy  Father,  the 
Pope,  the  head  on  earth,  under  Christ,  of  our  divine 
religion ;  and  this  my  answer  is  accompanied  like- 
wise with  nine  medals  representing  our  divine  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  and  His  most  Holy  Mother.  I  desire 
that  these  may  be  received  by  the  Chiefs  of  the 
River  St.  John,  Passamaquoddy,  and  Micmacs,  who 
signed  the  address  to  me.  They  came  from  and 


96  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

received  the  blessing  of  our  same  Holy  Father,  the 
Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  government  of  His 
Church. 

"  That  the  blessing  of  God  may  come  down  upon 
you,  your  women  and  children,  and  remain  forever, 
is  the  earnest  prayer  of  your  father,  friend,  and  ser- 
vant in  Christ. 

"  ^  JOHN,  Bishop  of  Baltimore.* 

"BALTIMORE,  Sept.  6,.  1781." 

Thus  the  descendants  of  the  flock  of  the  Jesuits, 
Recollects,  and  missionary  priests  of  Quebec,  passed 
under  the  spiritual  care  of  the  Bishop  of  Baltimore. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Ciquard  was  selected  to  be  their 
spiritual  guide,  and  proceeded  to  Old  Town,  on  the 
Penobscot,  and  soon  after  his  arrival  restored  the 
mission  founded  by  Mr.  Thury,  and  labored  here 
with  zeal  and  success  for  many  years.  During  his 
stay  he  instituted  very  wise  rules  for  the  direction 
of  the  Indians,  and  had  much  to  struggle  with  in 
order  to  bring  them  to  anything  like  regularity. 
Wishing,  however,  to  join  his  fellow  Sulpitians  at 
Montreal,  he  passed  to  the  English  side,  and  became 
pastor  of  the  Indians  on  the  St.  John's  River.  This 
was  a  severe  blow  to  Bishop  Carroll,  as  it  left  an 
interesting  portion  of  his  flock  without  a  spiritual 
father. 

Rev.  Mr.  Thayer,  upon  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Dr. 

*  Brent,  Biographical  Sketch  of  the  Most  Rev.  John 
Carroll,  page  150. 


PROGRESS    OF   THE   CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.         97 

Matignon,  was  now  at  liberty  to  give  greater  scope 
to  his  zeal  by  taking  a  wider  range  and  extending 
his  visits  to  other  parts  of  New  England.  His 
excursions,  thei'efore,  were  more  frequent,  and  he 
was  able  to  tarry  longer  in  particular  places  where 
his  services  were  more  required.  In  this  way  he 
continued  to  labor,  announcing  the  Gospel  in  every 
large  town  and  village,  and  gaining  many  souls  to 
God  by  reclaiming  them  from  heresy,  until  the  year 
1799,  when  the  Bishop  of  Baltimore,  anxious  to 
provide  for  the  spiritual  necessities  of  all  confided 
to  his  pastoral  care,  withdrew  him  from  the  New 
England  mission,  and  sent  him" to  labor  on  that  of 
Kentucky,  a  State  of  which  the  vast  extent  and 
increasing  population  seemed  to  require  one  of  his 
activity  and  great  zeal. 

What  we  learn  subsequently  of  Rev.  Father 
Thayer,  is,  that  while  laboring  on  the  mission  of 
Kentucky,  and  meditating  the  advantages  of  a  truly 
Christian  education,  he  conceived  the  design  of  estab- 
lishing in  his  native  city  an  institution  similar  to 
many  he  had  seen  abroad  in  France  and  Italy,  —  a 
convent  school  for  young  Catholic  females.  He  there- 
fore, after  a  few  years,  left  Kentucky,  and  with  the 
approbation  of  the  Bishop  went  to  Europe,  with 
the  view  of  raising,  by  eleemosynary  contributions, 
sufficient  funds  for  its  establishment.  The  plan 
was  ridiculed  by  some,  laughed  at  by  others,  while 
even  the  most  friendly  to  the  undertaking  thought  it 
never  could  succeed.  Father  Thayer,  however, 
persevered  in  his  pious  project,  and  had  already 


98  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

collected  between  eight  and  ten  thousand  dollars, 
when  Almighty  God  called  him  to  Himself,  to 
reward  him  for  his  zeal  and  missionary  labors.  He 
died  in  Limerick,  Ireland,  beloved  and  respected  by 
all  who  knew  him,  leaving  his  funds  and  the  com- 
pletion of  his  design  to  the  great  and  good  Dr. 
Matignon.  The  funds  were  wisely  and  prudently 
managed  by  him  till  the  sum  had  nearly  or  quite 
doubled  itself.  At  the  death  of  Dr.  Matignon, 
Right  Rev.  John  de  Cheverus  became  sole  trustee, 
and  immediately  prepared  to  carry  the  intentions  of 
his  predecessor  into  effect  as  far  as  he  could.  A 
lot  of  land  adjoining  the  church  of  Holy  Cross  was 
purchased,  upon  which  buildings  were  erected,  and 
on  the  i6th  of  June,  1820,  at  the  invitation  of  the 
Bishop,  two  professed  nuns  and  two  sisters  of  the 
Ursuline  Order  arrived  and  took  possession  of  their 
convent.  In  a  short  time  a  school  was  opened,  of 
which  the  advantages  were  soon  felt  by  the  whole 
community,  and  which  diffused  among  the  pupils  a 
degree  of  piety  and  intelligence  highly  creditable  to 
the  establishment. 

Should  any  be  inquisitive  enough  to  ask  what 
became  of  this  first  Young  Ladies  Catholic  School 
establishment?  and  the  sisters,  what  became  of 
them  ?  the  history  of  "  Mount  Benedict,"  Charles- 
town,  August  n,  1834,  will  answer  the  questien,  and 
tell  the  event  till  the  end  of  time. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  BOSTON.       99 

THE   ARRIVAL   IN   BOSTON   OF   REV.  JOHN   DE 
CHEVERUS. 

Rev.  Dr.  Matignon  was  not,  however,  left  long 
alone.  Among  the  French  clergy  whom  he  had  left 
in  England  was  one  in  whom  he  had  great  confi- 
dence. This  was  Rev.  John  de  Cheverus,  a  native 
of  Mayenne,  and  rector  there  when  the  revolution 
broke  out.  He  wrote  to  him  in  1795,  urging  him  to 
come  to  a  field  so  destitute  of  evangelical  laboi'ers, 
and  adducing  every  motive  which  he  thought  could 
influence  his  friend.  Rev.  J.  de  Cheverus  yielded, 
and  having  fortunately  found  a  vessel  sailing  for 
Boston,  embarked,  and  reached  here  on  the  third  of 
October,  1796,  to  the  great  joy  and  consolation  of 
Dr.  Matignon. 

"  This  great  and  good  man,"  says  the  writer  of 
his  memoir,  "  was  born  at  Mayenne,  in  the  province 
of  the  same  name,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1768. 
His  family  was  highly  respectable.  At  an  early 
age  he  entered  the  ecclesiastical  state.  The  canons 
requiring  the  candidate  for  the  priesthood  to  be  in  his 
twenty-fifth  year,  and  J.  de  Cheverus  not  yet  being 
twenty-three,  a  dispensation  was  obtained  from  the 
Holy  See,  and  he  was  ordained  priest  December 
1 8,  1790?  at  the  last  public  ordination  in  Paris 
before  the  i evolution.  He  was  shortly  appointed 
curate  to  his  native  parish  and  vicar-general 
of  the  diocese.  And  now  broke  out  fierce  and 
bloody  that  frightful  revolution  that  surpassed  in 
atrocities  all  that  history  has  recorded.  The  perse- 


IOO  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

cution  of  the  clergy  and  the  faithful  marked  every 
step  of  its  progress,  for  the  disciples  of  Voltaire 
and  Diderot  sought  far  less  the  overthrow  of  the 
ancient  monarchy  than  the  destruction  of  the  ancient 
religion  of  France.  An  impious  oath  was  proposed 
to  the  bishops  and  priests,  which,  if  they  would  not 
take,  they  were  cast  into  prison,  and  the  prison  was 
the  high  road  to  death.  J.  de  Cheverus  having 
refused  to  take  the  oath,  and  being  threatened  with 
assassination,  acceded  to  the  request  of  his  flock, 
retired  from  the  city,  and  was  concealed  for  a  time 
among  his  friends.  In  the  summer  of  1792,  he  was 
seized  and  confined  in  the  convent  of  the  Cordeliers, 
with  the  Bishop  of  Dol,  and  several  other  clergy- 
men. In  this  place  they  were  confined  for  a  fort- 
night, momentarily  expecting  to  hear  the  doors 
grate  upon  their  hinges  and  to  see  the  murderer 
with  his  dagger  at  their  breast.  The  place  was 
destitute  of  furniture  or  provisions,  and  their  distress 
was  great  until  partially  relieved  by  a  few  coura- 
geous friends  to  humanity  and  religion.  Delivered 
from  prison,  J.  de  Cheverus  repaired  to  Paris,  and 
was  concealed  in  that  city  on  the  second  and  third 
of  September,  during  the  memorable  days  of  the 
massacre  of  the  clergy.  Four  days  after  this  bloody 
scene  he  left  Paris,  disguised  in  a  military  dress, 
having  a  passport  bearing  the  name  of  his  brother, 
whom,  though  much  younger,  he  greatly  resembled, 
and  followed  to  England  that  noble  band  of  exiled 
confessors  who  held  their  faith  dearer  than  all 
things  earthly.  He  now  applied  himself  with  great 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH   IN   BOSTON.       IOI 

• 

assiduity  to  the  study  of  the  English  language,  and 
made  such  progress  that  at  the  end  of  three  months 
he  was  able  to  give  lessons  in  French  and  mathe- 
matics at  a  boarding-school,  where  he  became  a 
teacher  in  1793.  Finding  in  the  neighborhood  a 
few  Catholic  families,  who  had  no  pastor  nor  place 
of  worship,  he  applied  to  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Douglass, 
bishop  of  the  London  district,  and  obtained  permis- 
sion to  officiate  for  them.  A  house  was  procured, 
and  part  of  it  converted  into  a  chapel,  while  the 
other  part  he  appropriated  for  his  own  use  as  a 
dwelling-house ;  and  from  this  arrangement  he  was 
enabled  to  invite  a  few  clergymen  to  reside  with 
him.  J.  de  Cheverus  had  always  cherished  strong 
hopes  of  soon  returning  to  France  ;  but  the  hour  of 
return  was  not  at  hand.  In  1795  he  was  invited  by 
Dr.  Matignon,  with  whom  he  had  been  slightly 
acquainted  in  Paris,  to  join  him  in  Boston.  Having 
informed  his  ordinary,  the  Bishop  of  Mans,  of  his 
intention  of  crossing  the  Atlantic,  he  received  an 
affectionate  letter  from  the  aged  prelate,  then  an 
exile  as  well  as  himself,  praising  his  zeal,  yet 
urging  him  to  wait  and  hope  for  better  days ;  but 
nothing  would  alter  his  determination,  and  he 
arrived  in  Boston,  October  3d,  1796." 

Immediately  after  his  arrival  at  Boston,  Rev.  J. 
de  Cheverus  wrote  to  Bishop  Carroll,  and  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  Indian  mission.  He  accepted  it 
cheerfully.  "  Send  me  where  you  think  I  am  most 
needed,"  he  wrote,  "  without  making  yourself  anx- 
ious about  the  means  of  supporting  me.  I  am 


IO3  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

willing  to  work  with  my  hands,  if  need  be.  and  I 
believe  I  have  strength  enough  to  do  it."  He 
reached  Pleasant  Point  on  the  3Oth  of  July,  1797, 
and  immediately  took  up  his  abode  in  the  little 
house  erected  for  him.  "  My  house,"  he  writes 
gayly,  "  (and  with  pride  I  say  it,  for  it  is  a  long 
time  since  I  was  in  a  house  of  my  own),  my  house 
is  about  ten  feet  square  and  eight  feet  high,  and  the 
church  as  large  again,  but  not  a  great  deal  higher. 
In  both  no  other  material  than  bark  and  a  few  logs 
of  wood  and  sticks  set  up  crossways  to  support  the 
bark ;  no  windows,  of  course  —  the  only  opening  is 
the  door.  This  makes  the  church  dark,  and  I  can 
hardly  read  at  the  altar.  The  only  piece  of  furni- 
ture in  the  house  is  a  large  table  made  of  rough 
boards.  The  altar-piece  is  made  of  two  pieces  of 
broadcloth  —  the  one  of  scarlet  and  the  other  of 
dark  blue." 

Such  was  the  state  of  this  mission,  and  such  the 
residence  of  the  future  Cardinal. 

The  Indians  had  received  him  with  great  joy,  and 
with  volleys  of  musketry.  He  addressed  them  on 
his  ai'rival,  and  the  next  day  offered  up  a  solemn 
Mass  for  the  dead,  the  Indians  to  his  surprise  chant- 
ing the  Latin  responses  quite  accurately.  "What 
courage  and  patience,"  he  exclaims,  "  in  the  first 
missionaries ! " 

Guided  by  the  letters  of  Mr.  Ciquard,  whose 
experience  had  rendered  his  advice  most  precious, 
J.  de  Cheverus  laid  down  rules  for  his  flock,  and 
set  to  work  to  repair  the  evil  done  by  long  privation 


PROGRESS   OF   THE    CHURCH    IN   BOSTON.        103 

of  pastors.  In  the  following  year  he  ascended  the 
St.  Croix  with  some  of  the  Indians,  and  reached 
Old  Town,  on  the  Penobscot,  in  June,  1798. 

Here,  beside  the  ruins  of  their  old  church,  he 
found  a  new  one  of  bark,  with  the  cross  of  the 
former  above  the  door,  and  the  bell  hung  to  a  post 
hard  by,  still  regularly  sounding  the  Angelus.  The 
vestments  and  church  plate  had  been  all  carried  to 
Canada,  and  the  only  ornaments  of  the  church  were 
a  crucifix  and  a  couple  of  statues. 

At  this  place  he  remained  some  time  confessing, 
teaching,  baptizing,  and  endeavoring  above  all  to 
restore  their  piety  and  love  of  religion. 

Mr.  Allen,  who  had  been  interpreter  of  these  In- 
dians, was  still  their  firm  friend,  and  obtained  of 
the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  in  1797  or  1798, 
a  grant  of  two  hundred  dollars  a  year  to  a  missionary, 
who  would  reside  alternately  at  Penobscot  and  Pas- 
samaquody. 

Having  thus  placed  these  missions  in  a  fair  way  of 
prosperity,  Rev.  J.  de  Cheverus  proceeded  to  Dama- 
rascotta  Bridge  or  Newcastle.  Here  seven  Catholic 
families  from  Ireland  had  settled,  and  invited  the 
missionary  to  visit  them.  He  said  Mass  and  preached 
in  a  barn  of  the  Hon.  Matthew  Cottrill,  encouraged 
the  people  to  persevere  in  their  religion  and  raise  a 
church  as  soon  as  possible,  promising  his  best  en- 
deavors to  get  them  a  resident  clergyman.  They 
were  not  remiss ;  the  next  year  a  store  was  bought 
and  fitted  up  as  a  chapel. 

Returning  to  Boston,  he  devoted  himself  to  his 


IO4  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

labors  there,  and  was  rejoiced  the  next  year  to  wel- 
come the  Rev.  James  Romagne,  a  townsman  of  his 
own,  appointed  by  Bishop  Carroll  to  the  Indian 
missions. 

Of  this  clergyman  we  can  only  say  that  his  long 
apostolate  among  these  tribes  endeared  him  alike  to 
all,  to  Catholic  and  Protestant,  white  and  red  man. 
He  restored  piety  and  religion,  corrected  abuses, 
encouraged  industry,  and  trained  all  to  God  during 
the  eighteen  years  he  remained  among  them.  Worn 
down  at  last  by  frequent  infirmities,  he  left  his  mis- 
sion and  returned  to  France  in  1818.  Arrived  at 
his  native  country,  and  his  health  having  been  so 
far  restored  as  to  resume  spiritual  duties,  he  was 
appointed  cure  of  Sace,  which  office  he  held  till 
his  death,  November  19,  1836. 

Rev.  Dr.  Matignon,  a  name  ever  dear  to  religion 
and  learning,  was  truly  a  great  man,  content  with 
doing  good  ;  but  at  this  time  he  required  the  best 
assistance,  and  it  was  fortunate  for  the  cause  that 
such  a  coadjutor  as  Rev.  J.  de  Cheverus  should 
have  been  found.  Their  tasks,  their  pursuits,  their 
dispositions  were  kindred,  and  they  became  insep- 
arable. Their  many  virtues  and  social  qualities 
were  the  admiration  even  of  their  adversaries,  and 
a  zealous  Protestant  clergyman,  anxious  to  save  from 
the  superstitions  of  Popery  men  so  amiable  and  so 
good,  called  on  them,  to  strive  to  convince  them  of 
their  errors.  After  an  'interval  of  some  length,  he 
returned  to  his  friends,  who  were  waiting  to  hear 
the  success  of  his  mission,  exclaiming,  "  These 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.        105 

men  are  so  learned  there  is  no  doing  anything  with 
them  in  argument ;  so  pure  and  evangelical  in  their 
lives  there  is  no  reproaching  them ;  and  I  fear  it 
will  give  us  much  trouble  to  check  their  influence." 
Thus  did  they  by  degrees  win  the  hearts  and  gain 
the  affections  of  all ;  prejudice  was  disarmed  ;  many 
began  to  inquire  into  the  truth,  and  the  flock  was 
constantly  increasing  in  numbers. 

A  comparative  view  of  the  state  of  the  Church 
during  the  first  ten  years  of  its  existence  in  Boston, 
viz.,  from  the  year  1790  to  the  year  1800,  will  enable 
us  to  form  an  accurate  judgment  of  the  progress  of 
Catholicity  at  this  early  period. 

Years.  Baptisms.  Marriages.  Deaths. 

1790,  30  i  4 

'791*  23  3  4 

1792,  15  4  2 

1793,  28  12  II 

1794,  42  5  18 

i795»  40  5  9 

1796,  47  ii  6 

1797,  60  ii  10 

1798,  59  26  34 

1799,  77  18  S 

In  this  table,  which  estimates  the  baptisms  and 
marriages  performed,  and  deaths  that  occurred, 
were  in  Boston  only,  no  notice  being  taken  of  the 
baptisms,  marriages,  or  deaths  in  remote  or  even  in 
adjacent  places.  As  new  churches  arose,  new  reg- 


[O6  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

isters  were  kept  in  each  Church.  Rev.  J.  de  Chev- 
erus  was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  annually  those 
Catholics  who  were  scattered  in  the  various  towns  of 
Massachusetts,  and  indeed  even  some  of  the  neighbor- 
ing States,  in  which  they  were  constantly  increasing, 
such  as  Salem,  Newburyport,  Portsmouth,  Dama- 
riscotta,  Bristol,  Waldboro',  Plymouth,  et  cetera. 
He  gave  also,  as  we  have  seen,  particular  attention 
to  Penobscot  and  Passamaquoddy,  those  Indian  set- 
tlements, entirely  Catholic,  which  derive  their  name 
from  the  tribes  that  had  founded  them.  In  all  these, 
and  in  many  other  places  which  he  visited  annually 
or  oftener,  he  never  failed  to  preach,  baptize,  and 
administer  the  other  sacraments,  to  the  great  delight 
of  his  hearers,  both  Catholics  and  Protestants,  to  the 
great  increase  of  the  faith  and  the  edification  and 
improvement  of  all. 

ERECTION   OF   THE    FIRST    CATHOLIC    CHURCH 
IN   BOSTON. 

Hitherto  the  Catholics  had  always  assembled  for 
divine  worship  in  the  small  house  on  School  Street. 
But  the  lease  they  had  taken  had  now  nearly  ex- 
pired ;  it  was.  all-important,  therefore,  for  them  to 
seek  some  other  place.  As  their  numbers  were  now 
greatly  augmented,  they  preferred  to  purchase  at 
once  a  lot  of  land,  and  proceed  to  erect,  with  as 
little  delay  as  possible,  a  church  which  should  be  at 
once  decent  and  capacious.  With  this  resolution 
and  determination  to  accomplish  the  great  object  so 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.         lOf 

near  and  dear  to  their  hearts,  they  assembled  on 
Sunday,  the  3ist  of  March,  1799,  at  their  usual 
place  of  worship,  and  appointed,  to  carry  their 
object  into  effect,  a  committee  composed  of  the  fol- 
lowing gentlemen :  — 

The  Hon.  Don  Juan  Stoughton,  Consul  of  His 
Catholic  Majesty  ;  John  Magner,  Patrick  Campbell, 
Michael  Burns,  Owen  Callaghan,  John  Duggan, 
Edmund  Connor1. 

On  the  following  Sunday,  April  7,  in  conformity 
with  a  report  of  the  same  committee,  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  to  open  a  subscription  for  the  pur- 
chase of  a  lot  of  land ;  Rev.  Drs.  Matignon  and 
Cheverus  being  treasurers.  On  the  same  day  the 
books  were  opened  for  subscriptions,  with  a  pre- 
amble, to  the  effect  that  the  subscribers  bound 
themselves  to  pay  one  half  of  the  promised  sum 
immediately,  and  the  rest  in  six  months.  Within  a 
very  few  days  two  hundred  and  twelve  persons  had 
signed  the  promise,  of  whom,  two  subscribed,  each, 
$250 ;  one,  $333 ;  one,  $200 ;  eight,  $100 ;  one, 
$60  ;  seven,  $50 ;  two,  $40 ;  one,  35  ;  two,  $30  ; 
two,  $26;  two,  $25;  nineteen,  $20;  one,  $15; 
fifty-one,  $10;  and  others  from  $8  down  to  $i. 
The  whole  amount  was  $3,202,  —  a  large  sum  for 
so  poor  a  community. 

This  was  the  excellent  beginning,  which  evinced 
the  great  zeal  and  exemplary  piety  of  these  first 
members  of  the  Church,  and  their  determined  reso- 
lution to  accomplish  the  great  object  that  was  so 
near  and  dear  to  their  hearts.  The  very  poorest 


IO8  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

among  them  came  forward  with  a  generosity  truly 
characteristic  of  the  best  ages  of  Christianity,  and 
laid  at  the  feet  of  their  pastors  all  they  possessed 
in  the  world,  and  pledged  themselves  moreover  to 
contribute  the  half  of  their  earnings,  in  monthly 
payments,  till  the  church  should  be  completed. 

In  the  mean  time,  another  subscription  was 
opened,  and  many  among  the  Protestant  commu- 
nity generously  contributed  to  the  new  church.  At 
the  head  of  these  donors  was  the  name  of  the  ven- 
erable John  Adams,  at  that  time  President  of  the 
United  States.  Dr.  Matignon  solicited  also  the  aid 
of  his  Catholic  friends  at  the  South,  and  his  appeal 
was  kindly  responded  to. 

The  amount  of  sums  collected  was  as  follows :  — 

From  members  of  the  Congregation,      .$10,771  69 

Other  Catholics, 15948  83 

Protestants, 3?433  °° 

The  plan  of  the  church  was  generously  furnished 
by  James  Bulfinch,  Esq.,  who  kindly  offered  at  the 
same  time  to  superintend  gratis  the  execution  of  it, 
for  which  he  received  the  thanks  of  the  congrega- 
tion, together  with  an  elegant  silver  urn,  valued  at 
about  two  hundred  dollars,  which  was  unanimously 
voted  him  by  the  congregation. 

The  church  measured  eighty  feet  in  length  and 
sixty  feet  in  width.  It  was  of  the  Ionic  order,  and 
fronted  on  Franklin  Square.  It  had  two  spacious 
galleries,  and  another  for  the  organ  choir.  The 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    BOSTON.       109 

basement  story  was  nine  feet  in  the  clear,  of  equal 
length  and  breadth  with  the  church.  The  basement 
was  of  stone  and  the  superstructure  of  brick.  The 
entire  cost  of  the  building  was  twenty  thousand 
dollars. 

It  was  dedicated  by  Most  Rev.  Bishop  Carroll, 
September  29,  1803,  with  great  solemnity,  and 
called  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross.  An  altar- 
piece,  representing  the  Crucifixion,  painted  by  Mr. 
Sargent,  was  placed  over  the  high  altar.  Thus  by 
the  prudence,  zeal,  and  indefatigable  exertions  of 
Dr.  Matignon,  and  his  worthy  colleague,  Dr.  de 
Cheverus,  with  the  cooperation  of  the  congregation 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  was  this  great  undertaking  hap- 
pily achieved. 


CONSECRATION 

OF 

RIGHT  REVEREND  JOHN  DE  CHEVERUS, 
FIRST  BISHOP  OF  BOSTON,  NOVEMBER  i,  1810. 

IN  the  year  1808  Boston  was  erected  into  an  Epis- 
copal See  by  Pius  VII. ;  but  in  consequence  of  the 
troubled  state  of  affairs  in  Europe  at  that  period,  the 
Bulls  did  not  reach  America  until  1810.  By  those 
it  soon  appeared  that  Rev.  John  de  Cheverus  was 
appointed,  by  His  Holiness,  First  Bishop.  This  ap- 
pointment had  been  effected  at  the  solicitation  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Matignon,  with  the  concurrence  and  appro- 
bation of  Most  Rev.  Dr.  Carroll.  Shortly  after  the 
arrival  of  the  credentials  from  Rome,  Dr.  De  Chev- 
erus was  consecrated  Bishop  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
Carroll,  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter's,  Baltimore,  on 
the  feast  of  All-Saints,  November  i,  1810.  The 
ceremony  was  performed  with  great  pomp  and  solem- 
nity, amidst  an  immense  concourse  of  people,  who 
had  assembled  from  all  parts  to  witness  the  imposing 
scene. 

From  the  address,  published  at  the  request  of  the 
Right  Rev.  Bishops,  after  alluding  to  the  sublime 
dignity  and  sacred  responsibility  connected  with  the 

no 


RG-    REV.    BISHOP    CHEVERUS. 


CONSECRATION    OF    FIRST    BISHOP    OF    BOSTON.      Ill 

office  of  Bishops,  as  successors  of  the  Apostles,  the 
Orator,  Rev.  Dr.  Harold  of  Philadelphia,  speaks  in 
language  so  appropriate  to  priests  and  pastors  in 
general,  as  well  as  to  Prelates,  that  we  take  the 
liberty  to  transcribe  his  concluding  remarks. 

"  To  this  place  of  pastoral  eminence,  of  distin- 
guished honor,  and  most  awful  responsibility,  you, 
very  reverend  Father,  have  been  selected  by  your 
superiors,  and  separated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  the 
highest  work  of  the  ministry.  To  your  guidance  is 
committed  a  portion  of  that  flock  which  Christ  pur- 
chased on  Calvary  ;  and  never  was  the  commission 
given  at  a  period  more  eventful,  and  in  circumstances 
more  truly  interesting.  By  your  testimony  to  the 
faith  of  the  Catholic  Church,  they  are  henceforward 
to  abide ;  from  you,  they  are  to  receive  the  food  of 
wholesome  doctrine,  the  saving  evidence  of  a  blame- 
less example.  The  duty  you  are  called  to  is  arduous, 
but  the  remuneration  you  are  promised  is  splendid  ; 
your  path  is  strewed  with  difficulties-,  your  office  is 
beset  with  perils,  but  at  the  finishing  of  your  course, 
the  Prince  of  Pastors  has  pledged  His  eternal  truth, 
that  He  will  reward  your  faithful  services  with  a 
diadem  of  unfading  glory. 

"  When  we  consider  the  inestimable  worth  of  the 
human  soul,  the  glorious  purpose  for  which  it  was 
called  into  existence,  the  nameless  variety  of  causes 
which  threaten  to  defeat  that  end,  we  cannot  feel  sur- 
prised at  the  exalted  qualifications  required  in  him  to 
whom  the  guardianship  of  that  soul  is  committed. 
We  cannot  affect  astonishment  when  we  learn  that 


112  SKETCHES,    ETC.  * 

the  good  shepherd  is  one  who  despises  every  danger, 
who  braves  every  difficulty,  who  suppresses  every 
feeling,  who  stands  prepared  to  devote  life  itself  for 
the  safety  of  his  flock. 

"  The  virtues  that,  in  common  men,  might  fairly 
challenge  our  applause  and  justify  our  hopes,  move 
far  below  the  perfection  required  in  a  Bishop  —  his 
worth  must  be  commensurate  with  his  dignity  —  his 
life  must  be  heavenly  as  his  office  —  his  heart  must 
answer  this  solemn  appeal  which  Christ  three  times 
repeated  to  the  first  of  His  Apostles,  '  Simon,  son  of 
John,  lovest  thou  Me  more  than  these?'  And  as  he 
values  the  imperishable  crown  which  awaits  him,  he 
will  give  evidence  of  that  superior  love  required  by 
Christ,  not  in  vain,  empty,  inoperative  professions  of 
attachment,  but  in  real,  living,  indubitable  proofs  of 
love ;  in  imparting  safety  and  support  to  that  cher- 
ished flock,  which  our  adored  Redeemer  prized  above 
His  life.  A  Bishop  must  not  only  feel  in  his  heart 
that  love  which  is  strong  as  death,  but  he  must  aspire 
to  that  abundant  charity,  which  alone  can  smooth  the 
rough  road  of  pastoral  care,  and  lighten  the  oppres- 
sive burden  of  pastoral  solicitude.  He  must  seek, 
with  indefatigable  perseverance,  the  salvation  of  souls, 
but  science  must  enlighten  and  discretion  must  guide 
the  impulse  of  his  zeal. 

"  When  I  speak  of  the  science  of  a  Bishop,  I  do 
not  mean  the  chilling  noxious  vapor  of  mere  human 
learning,  which  engenders  pride,  and  points  the  way 
to  ruin,  —  his  must  be  the  science  of  salvation,  the 
knowledge  of  God,  created,  improved,  and  made 


CONSECRATION   OF   FIRST    BISHOP    OF    BOSTON.      113 

perfect  by  the  Gospel.  When  I  call  for  discretion 
as  a  quality  necessary  to  his  office,  I  do  not  mean  the 
timid,  time-serving  thing  which  the  world  knows  by 
that  name,  that  worthless  prudence  which  bends  the 
venerable  form  of  Religion  to  promote  the  wretched 
speculations  of  selfishness  ;  his  must  be  that  discre- 
tion which  originates  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and 
renders  all  passing  things  justly  subservient  to  man's 
more  lasting  and  more  glorious  destination. 

"  Placed  on  an  eminence,  '  held  up  as  a  spectacle 
to  the  world,  to  angels,  and  to  men,'  the  conduct  of  a 
Bishop  can  never  be  a  matter  of  indifference  ;  his 
deportment  is  measured  ;  his  every  word  is  marked  ; 
the  eye  of  a  world,  that  never  pardons,  is  fixed  upon 
him  ;  to  him  no  middle  course  is  granted  ;  the  opinion 
of  mankind  coincides,  in  this  instance,  with  the  spirit 
of  the  Gospel ;  if  he  does  not  build  up,  he  destroys  ; 
if  his  life  breathe  not  the  odor  of  edification,  if  his 
actions  do  not  carry  glory  to  the  Father  who  is  in 
heaven,  he  dishonors  his  place,  he  betrays  his  trust, 
he  breaks  his  allegiance  to  the  Prince  of  Pastors, 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  To  the  Episcopal  office  it 
peculiarly  belongs  to  minister  to  the  spiritual  wants 
of  mankind  the  word  of  eternal  life,  and  point  out  to 
their  people  the  narrow  path  that  leads  to  blessedness  ; 
hence  they  are  styled  in  the  Gospel,  '  the  light  of  the 
world  ; '  but  if  that  light  be  obscured  by  passion,  or 
hidden  under  the  mantle  of  indolence  and  sloth,  what 
hand  will  conduct  the  unhappy  flock  to  safety  ?  What 
power  can  lure  them  from  the  wide  and  perilous  road 
of  reprobation  and  misery?  The  flock  may  perish, 
8 


114  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

but  the  faithless  shephe-rd  shall  perish  with  them  ;  the 
blood  by  which  they  were  redeemed  may  be  made 
void,  but  let  it  be  remembered,  '  that  blood  cries 
louder  than  the  blood  of  Abel.' 

"  It  is,  therefore,  of  indispensable  necessity  that  a 
Bishop  impart  to  his  flock  the  word  of  eternal  life. 
But  it  is  yet  more  important  that  he  support  the 
authority  of  his  instruction  by  a  blameless  sanctity 
of  manners,  and  an  unimpeachable  integrity  of  life. 
The  fire  of  heavenly  charity  must  glow  in  his  words, 
and  be  visible  in  his  actions ;  for,  if  the  world  can 
contrast  the  life  of  a  Bishop  with  his  doctrine,  from 
that  moment  he  has  lost  the  power  to  save.  His  dis- 
courses may  sparkle  with  eloquence  and  abound  with 
erudition,  but  they  will  fall  from  his  lips  cold,  fruit- 
less, and  lifeless.  They  may  amuse  the  imagination, 
they  cannot  reform  the  heart.  Instead  of  encouraging 
the  growth  of  virtue,  and  co-operating  with  Heaven  to 
save  the  immortal  soul,  he  kills  every  feeling  of  good, 
he  confirms  the  doubts  of  the  unbelieving,  and  har- 
dens the  obduracy  of  the  impenitent.  Instead  of 
evincing  a  shepherd's  tenderness,  in  rescuing  his 
hapless  flock  from  danger,  his  example  encourages 
their  disastrous  wanderings,  and  strengthens  the  chain 
of  moral  death  by  which  they  are  bound. 

"  Heaven  will  shield  the  Church  of  America  from 
such  a  misfortune  as  this.  Her  Bishops  will  labor 
to  deserve  the  encomium  which  the  martyr  Cyprian 
bestowed  on  Pope  Cornelius :  '  Whilst  you  advance 
to  glory,'  said  that  illustrious  man,  '  you  attract  com- 
panions to  your  victory,  and  induce  your  people  to 


CONSECRATION    OF    FIRST    BISHOP    OF    BOSTON.      1 15 

confess  their  faith  by  seeing  you  prepared  to  confess 
for  all.' 

"  Very  reverend  Fathers  !  You  have  not  to  resort 
to  antiquity  for  an  example  of  Episcopal  virtue.  That 
bounteous  God,  whose  manifold  blessings  overspread 
this  land,  whose  boundless  mercies  claim  our  warm- 
est gratitude,  still  preserves,  for  your  advantage,  a 
living  encouragement  to  such  virtue,  and  a  fair  model 
for  your  imitation.  You  will  seek  both  in  your  vene- 
rable and  most  reverend  Prelate  —  you  will  find  both 
in  the  father  of  the  American  Church,  and  under  God 
the  author  of  its  prosperity.  In  him  you  will  find 
that  meekness  which  is  the  best  fruit  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that  humility  which,  for  Christ's  sake,  makes 
him  the  servant  of  all ;  that  richly  polished  character 
which  none  but  great  minds  can  receive,  which  noth- 
ing but  virtue  can  impart.  Fathei's  !  You  are  called 
to  a  great  work  ;  a  treasure  of  countless  value  is  de- 
posited in  your  hands ;  even  the  eternal  hope  of  your 
people.  Your  place  henceforward  is  between  them 
and  their  offended  Maker.  You  are  to  avert  His 
vengeance,  to  implore  His  pardon.  You  must  call 
down  mercy  and  reconciliation  from  heaven.  The 
first  of  your  prayers  will  be  for  the  everlasting  salva- 
tion of  mankind,  let  your  second  and  last  invoke 
blessings  on  this  dear  country.  May  this  land,  which 
Providence  has  prepared  for  the  day  of  the  world's 
distress,  —  this  last  refuge  for  the  broken  spirit  of 
man,  —  never  feel  the  arm  of  grinding  oppression  ; 
may  the  foul  fiend  of  intolerance  never  cast  her  dark 
and  baleful  shade  upon  it ;  may  liberty  and  religion 


Il6        .  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

hold  it  up  to  the  admiration  of  mankind  to  the  last 
day  of  the  world.  Grant  this,  Thou  God  of  mercy, 
through  Thy  dear  Son,  and  our  adored  Saviour, 
Christ  Jesus.  Amen." 

The  new  dignity  conferred  upon  Dr.  De  Cheverus 
made  no  alteration,  either  in  his  simple  mode  of  life 
or  in  his  former  occupations.  Immediately  after  his 
consecration,  he  returned  to  Boston,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  occupy  the  same  humble  dwelling  in  the 
rear  of  the  church,  and  to  share,  with  his  esteemed 
friend,  his  frugal  fare,  as  well  as  the  minutest  duties 
of  the  ministry. 

His  first,  care  was  to  visit  his  diocese,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  administering  the  holy  sacrament  of  Confir- 
mation, which  had  not  been  conferred  since  the  visit 
of  Archbishop  Carroll  in  1803.  In  the  course  of  his 
first  visitation  he  confirmed  three  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  persons,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  twenty-two 
belonged  to  the  Indian  tribe  in  Maine.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  repeated  his  visit,  and  this  he  continued 
to  do  year  after  year,  everywhere  announcing,  in  his 
peculiar  happy  manner,  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation 
to  his  widely-separated  flocks,  and  gathering  in  at 
every  visit  a  new  and  increased  harvest  of  souls. 

A  few  small  churches  now  began  successively  to 
spring  up  in  different  places,  for  the  accommodation 
of  the  Catholics  newly  formed  into  congregations. 
Salem,  New  Castle,  Whitefield,  New  Bedford,  South 
Boston,  and  Claremont  saw  the  cross  arise  in  their 
midst,  and  many  faithful  disciples  of  the  crucified 
Redeemer  flocked  around  it. 


CONSECRATION    OF    FIRST    BISHOP    OF    BOSTON.       1 17 

Rev.  Dr.  Matignon,  after  having  edified  the  church 
of  Boston  during  twenty-six  years,  died  on  the  I9th 
of  September,  1818,  deeply  regretted  by  the  whole 
diocese.  For  some  time  before  his  death,  his  health 
had  been  greatly  impaired  by  the  constant  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  the  ministry  ;  yet,  such  was  the  ardor 
of  his  zeal,  he  would  by  no  means  spare  himself  on 
account  of  its  decline,  or  omit  any  portion  of  those 
which  devolved  on  him  to  perform,  especially  during 
the  absence  of  his  Right  Rev.  friend,  in  the  frequent 
visitations  of  the  diocese.  He  died  as  he  had  lived, 
a  faithful  servant  of  God,  an  exemplary  pastor,  a 
sincere  friend,  and  a  true  pattern  of  a  good  Christian. 
His  remains  lie  in  the  Catholic  cemetery  at  South 
Boston.  The  following  is  the  epitaph  inscribed,  in 
gilt  letters,  on  a  white  marble  slab  affixed  to  the  wall, 
on  the  epistle  side  of  the  altar  :  — 

Here  lie  the  remains  of 
FRANCIS  ANTHONY  MATIGNON,  D.  D., 

and  for  twenty-six  years 

Pastor  of  the  Church  of  the 

HOLY  CROSS 

in  this  town. 
Ob.  September  19, 

1818. 
MM.  65. 

"  Beloved  of  God  and  men,  whose  memory  is  in 
benediction."  —  Eccl.  xlv.  i. 


Il8  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

"  The  law  of  truth  was  in  his  mouth,  and  iniquity 
was  not  found  in  his  lips :  he  walked  with  me  in 
peace  and  equity,  and  turned  many  away  from  ini- 
quity ;  for  the  lips  of  the  priest  shall  keep  knowledge, 
and  they  shall  seek  the  law  at  his  mouth ;  because  he 
is  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts."  —  Mai.  ii.  6,  7. 

Far  from  the  sepulchre  of  his  fathers  repose  the 
ashes  of  the  good  and  great  Dr.  Matignon  ;  but  his 
grave  is  not  as  among  strangers,  for  it  was,  and  will 
be  watered  by  the  tears  of  an  affectionate  flock,  and 
his  memory  is  cherished  by  all  who  value  learning, 
honor  genius,  or  love  devotion.  The  Bishop  and 
congregation,  in  tears,  have  erected  this  monument 
of  their  veneration  and  gratitude. 

R.  I.  P. 

The  following  stands  on  the  record  of  his  inter- 
ment, in  the  handwriting  of  Bishop  De  Cheverus  :  — 

"Sept.  2 1  st.  .  .  .  Francis  Anthony  Matignon, 
D.  D.,  and  for  twenty-six  years  Pastor  of  this  congre- 
gation—  Holy  Cross.  On  Saturday  the  i9th  he  died 
as  he  lived  —  a  saint.  .  .  .  ^Et.  65." 

The  following  table  will  show  the  increase  of 
Catholics  in  Boston  during  the  first  twenty  years  of 
this  century :  — 

A.  D. 

1 800 
1805 

1810 
1815 
1820 


Baptisms. 

Marriages. 

Deaths. 

54 

9 

7 

94 

20 

32 

151 

15 

18 

1  60 

26 

25 

112 

44 

'7 

CONSECRATION    OF    FIRST    BISHOP    OF    BOSTON.      119 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Matignon,  owing  to  the 
small  number  of  priests,  Bishop  De  Cheverus  was 
compelled  incessantly  to  discharge  the  ordinary  func- 
tions of  the  missionary  priest,  in  addition  to  his  own 
arduous  duties.  Obliged  to  travel  unaccompanied 
through  the  different  missions,  he  had  to  sustain  alone 
the  entire  burden  of  the  ministry  in  every  town  and 
village  through  which  he  passed,  preaching,  baptiz- 
ing, and  confessing.  It  became  evident  to  his  friends 
that  his  health  was  sinking  under  these  great  exertions. 

In  1822,  the  Baron  De  Neuville,  who  had  been 
residing  in  this  country  as  minister  from  the  Court  of 
St.  Cloud,  returned  to  France,  and  represented  the 
state  of  the  Bishop's  health  to  the  king,  Louis  XVIII. 
The  talents  of  the  prelate,  and  his  attachment  to  the 
royal  family  of  France,  were  well  known,  and  the 
fact  of  his  health  rapidly  declining,  induced  Louis 
XVIII.  to  nominate  him,  by  an  ordinance  dated  Jan- 
uary 15,  1823,  to  the  Bishopric  of  Montauban.  In 
April  following  his  appointment,  he  received  a  letter 
from  the  minister  of  the  interior,  informing  him  of 
this  ordinance,  and  requesting  him  to  return  to  France. 

The  Prince  De  Croy,  Grand  Almoner  of  France, 
likewise,  by  the  first  and  second  letter,  pressed  him 
to  return,  and  many  other  letters  from  his  own  family 
and  from  the  most  distinguished  persons  of  the  realm 
were  equally  urgent. 

For  these  and  otner  reasons,  and  more  particularly 
as  the  physicians  had  declared  that  his  health  could 
not  endure  another  winter  in  the  severe  climate  of 
Boston,  the  Bishop  thought  he  saw  the  will  of  Provi- 


I2O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

dence,  and  his  choice  was  made ;  but  it  cost  him 
many  pangs.  To  leave  Boston  was  like  rending  his 
heart  in  twain  ;  it  was  a  partial  death.  And,  as  if  he 
regarded  the  departure  as  the  day  of  his  death,  he 
wished,  before  it  arrived,  according  to  his  own  ex- 
pression, "  to  execute  his  will."  He  gave  to  the  dio- 
cese the  church,  the  Episcopal  residence,  and  the 
Ursuline  Convent.  He  left  to  the  bishops  who  should 
succeed  him  his  library,  which  consisted  of  standard 
works,  and  which  he  parted  with  most  reluctantly. 
Finally,  he  distributed  all  the  rest  of  his  possessions 
among  his  ecclesiastics,  his  friends,  and  the  poor ; 
and  as  he  had  come  to  Boston  a  poor  man,  he  chose 
to  depart  poor,  with  no  other  wealth  than  the  same 
trunk  which,  twenty-seven  years  before,  he  had 
brought  with  him. 

He  embarked  at  New  York  on  the  ist  of  October, 
1823,  accompanied  by  a  French  ecclesiastic,  M. 
Morainville,  who  had  for  a  long  time  .exercised  the 
priestly  functions  in  the  United  States,  and  whose  im- 
paired health  forced  also  to  return  to  Europe. 

After  a  miraculous  escape  from  shipwreck,  he 
arrived  in  France,  and  shortly  after  repaired  to  his 
Diocese  of  Montauban,  which  he  governed  only  a 
few  years,  when,  on  the  death  of  the  venerable  Mon- 
seigneur  D'Aviau  Du  Bois  De  Sanzi,  Archbishop  of 
Bordeaux,  he  was  translated  to  that  Archiepiscopal 
See,  which  he  governed,  respected,  beloved,  and  re- 
vered by  all,  until  the  2Oth  of  July,  1836,  when  he 
left  this  world  for  a  better  one.  Boston,  Montauban, 
and  Bordeaux  wept  over  his  death,  and  his  name  is 
still  in  benediction. 


RG?/    REV.    BISHOP    FENWICK. 


CONSECRATION 

OF 

RIGHT  REV.  BENEDICT  J.   FENWICK, 
SECOND  BISHOP  OF  BOSTON,  NOVEMBER  i,  1825. 

AFTER  the  departure  of  Bishop  Cheverus,  the 
Very  Reverend  William  Taylor,  his  vicar-general, 
succeeded  to  the  administration  of  the  diocese  during 
the  vacancy,  and  governed  it  till  the  year  1825,  when 
his  Holiness,  Pope  Leo  the  Twelfth,  was  pleased  to 
appoint  a  new  Bishop  to  the  See  of  Boston.  This 
was  the  Reverend  Benedict  Joseph  Fenwick,  who 
was  born  on  the  3d  of  September,  1782,  at  his  fa- 
ther's plantation,  on  Beaver-dam  Manor,  in  St. 
Mary's  county,  Maryland,  and  was  lineally  descended 
from  one  of  the  two  hundred  families  that  originally 
came  over  from  England  under  the  charter  of  Lord 
Baltimore,  and  settled  in  that  State. 

He  was  consecrated  at  Baltimore  by  the  Most  Rev. 
Archbishop  Marechal,  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Mary's, 
assisted  by  the  Right  Rev.  Dr.  England,  Bishop  of 
Charleston,  and  the  Right  Rev.  Henry  Conwell, 
Bishop  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  Festival  of  All-Saints, 
November  i,  1825,  just  fifteen  years  after  the  conse- 
cration of  his  predecessor.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Bos- 

121 


122  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

ton,  he  entered  the  Cathedral  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
amidst  a  large  concourse  of  people  who  had  come  to 
witness  his  inauguration,  and  was  there  received  by 
the  Very  Rev.  William  Taylor,  who  welcomed  him 
at  his  entrance,  and  exposed  to  him,  in  a  brief  man- 
ner, the  state  of  the  diocese,  and  especially  of  the 
congregation  of  Boston.  He  concluded  his  discourse 
by  giving  in  his  resignation,  and  making  known  his 
determination  to  leave  America,  and  return  to  Eu- 
rope. This  he  did  shortly  after.  Sailing  for  France, 
he  fixed  himself  at  Bordeaux,  where  he  was  made 
honorary  canon  by  his  friend  and  benefactor,  Arch- 
bishop De  Cheverus.  When  the  Cardinal  Arch- 
bishop, who  had  been  raised  to  the  peerage,  went  to 
Paris,  to  take  his  seat  in  the  house,  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor 
accompanied  him.  He  was  there  taken  sick,  and 
died  in  the  Irish  College,  in  August,  1828. 

After  the  departure  of  Rev.  Fr.  Taylor,  Bishop 
Fenwick  had  many  serious  difficulties  to  encounter. 
He  found  at  his  disposal  only  one  clergyman  in  Bos- 
ton, Rev.  Patrick  Byrne  ;  one  at  some  hundred  miles 
distant,  Rev.  Denis  Ryan,  pastor  of  the  congregations 
at  Whitefield  and  Damariscotta,  Me. ;  and  one  at 
Claremont,  N.  H.,  Rev.  V.  H.  Barber.  He  was  far, 
however,  from  desponding ;  he  had  put  his  whole 
confidence  in  God,  who  is  the  strength  of  the  weak, 
and  who  could  out  of  the  very  stones  raise  up  chil- 
dren to  Levi  as  well  as  to  Abraham.  He  had  not 
taken  the  honor  to  himself,  but  through  Leo,  the 
Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  called  of  God,  as  Aaron 
was ;  and  he  knew  that  he  who  had  called  him  could 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     123 

impart  to  him  sufficient  strength  and  grace  to  accom- 
plish his  end,  and  could  also  furnish  him,  in  due 
time,  with  all  the  money  requisite  for  its  full  accom- 
plishment. 


THE  URSULINE  CONVENT. 

His  first  care  was  to  visit  the  educational  establish- 
ment of  those  good  sisters,  the  Ursulines,  who,  dur- 
ing the  past  five  years,  had  devoted  themselves  untir- 
ingly to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  female  portion  of 
his  flock.  He  found  their  situation  exceedingly  un- 
comfortable. Cooped  up  within  four  narrow  walls, 
the  want  of  pure  air  had  reduced  them  all  to  a  sickly 
and  infirm  state,  and  two  of  the  most  efficient  mem- 
bers had  already  died.  After  viewing  the  premises, 
and  seeing  the  impracticability  of  improving  them  to 
any  advantage,  he  resolved  at  once  to  remove  these 
good  ladies  to  some  situation  better  adapted  to  the 
establishment  of  an  Ursuline  Community,  and  which 
would  afford  ample  space  for  the  erection  of  build- 
ings calculated  to  embrace  the  whole  scope  contem- 
plated by  their  institute,  as  well  as  for  a  garden  and 
for  spacious  and  airy  walks.  He  accordingly  selected 
what  he  deemed  a  good  location  in  the  town  of 
Charlestown,  about  two  miles  and  a  half  from  the 
centre  of  Boston,  whither  the  Ursulines  removed  on 
the  i;th  of  July,  1826. 

This  new,  ornate,  and  valuable  educational  estab- 
lishment, erected  at  so  much  labor  and  cost  by  the 


124  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

good  Bishop,  is  thus  described  by  one  who  was  a 
witness  to  its  rise  and  progress,  and  who  lived,  alas ! 
to  weep  over  its  destruction  by  misguided  fanatics.* 

"  The  building  is  situated  on  the  summit  of  the 
mount  now  called  Mount  Benedict,  and,  although 
considerably  elevated  above  the  country  immediately 
surrounding  it,  the  ascent  to  it  is  so  gradual  on  the 
side  of  Boston  that  it  is  scarcely  perceptible.  The 
pi-ospect  from  it  on  every  side,  for  beauty  and  extent, 
is  unrivalled  in  any  country.  In  front,  you  see  Bos- 
ton, with  its  beautiful  State  House  and  dome  towering 
over  all  other  buildings,  and  its  capacious  harbor, 
with  the  varied  scenery  about  it ;  of  vessels  perpet- 
ually entering  and  departing  from  it ;  of  islands  cov- 
ered with  rich  verdure,  and  others  surmounted  with 
fortifications.  Between,  lies  Charlestown,  with  the 
United  States  Navy  Yard,  Bunker  and  Breed's  Hills, 
on  the  latter  of  which  stands  the  obelisk  to  mark  the 
spot  where  Warren  fell.  A  little  to  the  left  may  be 
seen,  from  the  same  position,  the  towns  of  Chelsea 
and  of  Maiden,  connected  with  Charlestown  by  two 
bridges  over  the  Mystic  River,  and  the  beautiful  hills 
rising  in  that  direction  with  a  gentle  slope ;  and 
again,  a  little  to  the  right,  you  have,  still  from  the 
same  position,  a  clear  and  perfect  view  of  the  city  of 
Roxbury,  of  the  town  of  Brookline,  and  of  the 
beautiful  azure  hills  which  skirt  the  horizon  at  a  dis- 
tance, in  the  direction  of  Dorchester,  and,  still  nearer 

*  For  the  destruction  of  this  beautiful  Educational  Estab- 
lishment by  a  Mob,  see  Review  of  the  Incidents,  and  Rec- 
ord of  the  principal  Actors.  P.  Donahoe,  1870. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     125 

to  you,  of  East  Cambridge,  with  Charles  River,  and 
the  bridges  connecting  it  with  Boston. 

"  Again,  if  you  look  from  the  rear  of  the  building, 
your  eye  will  range  over  Cambridge,  Medford,  and 
Maiden,  with  the  verdant  fields  and  highly  cultivated 
country  lying  between  them,  adorned  with  innumera- 
ble country  seats  and  cottages,  gardens,  orchards, 
rich  meadows,  and  all  the  variety  of  both  town  and 
country,  with  the  Middlesex  Canal  winding  around 
the  different  hills,  and  leaving  the  Convent  lands  on 
its  way  to  mingle  its  waters  with  those  of  Charles 
River.  On  this  side,  the  view  is  again  intercepted 
only  by  the  distant  hills,  which  rise  higher  and  higher 
as  they  recede,  until  they  are  so  blended  with  the 
pale  blue  of  the  distant  clouds  as  scarcely  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  them.  Nothing  can  equal  the  beauty 
of  the  setting  sun  in  this  quarter. 

"  The  whole  of  this  interesting  spot  is  laid  out 
with  an  eye  to  the  object  to  which  it  is  appropriated. 
A  large  garden,  tastefully  arranged,  occupies  the  rear 
of  the  building,  while  extensive  gravel  walks,  shaded 
with  select  forest  trees,  consisting  of  the  elm,  the 
horse-chestnut,  and  the  sycamore,  afford  a  large  and 
spacious  play-ground  in  front.  The  parts  adjacent  to 
the  canal,  already  mentioned,  are  appropriated  to 
meadow,  or  are  cultivated  for  culinary  purposes. 
The  south  side,  which  is  of  steep  descent,  is  distrib- 
uted into  a  number  of  artificial  falls,  where  a  vine- 
yard of  the  choicest  grapes  is  planted  '  en  Espalier  j 
affording,  at  the  same  time,  most  delightful  walks. 
In  short,  every  advantage  has  been  taken,  under  the 


126  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

direction  of  the  Bishop,  of  the  situation,  naturally 
beautiful,  to  make  it  one  of  the  most  lovely  and 
agreeable  spots  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston." 


ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  CATHEDRAL. 

The  next  important  work,  on  the  part  of  the 
Bishop,  was  the  enlargement  of  the  Church  in  Bos- 
ton, for  the  accommodation  of  the  congregation,  now 
greatly  increased,  and  which,  though  not  originally 
designed  for  the  purpose,  had  become  the  Cathedral 
of  the  Diocese. 

The  gable  end  of  the  original  church  was  removed, 
and  an  addition  of  seventy-two  feet  in  width,  and 
nearly  forty  in  length,  was  erected,  which,  united 
with  the  former,  made  the  edifice  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  in  length,  by  sixty  in  its  narrowest,  and 
seventy-two  in  its  widest  part.  This  arrangement 
was  the  more  loudly  called  for,  as,  besides  its  other 
advantages,  it  afforded  ample  space  in  the  basement 
story  for  large  and  convenient  school-rooms.  The 
work  was  commenced  in  the  summer  of  1827,  and 
completed  the  year  following,  and  the  schools,  which 
had  been  long  a  desideratum,  were  immediately  com- 
menced and  superintended  by  the  candidates  for  the 
ecclesiastical  state. 

It  was  at  these  schools  that  many  received  their 
early  religious  education,  and  of  their  number  those 
who,  subsequently,  became  the  most  zealous  de- 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     127 

fenders  of  the  faith,  and  of  those  who,  in  after  years, 
pursuing  higher  studies,  devoted  their  lives  to  serve 
the  Sanctuaiy. 

In  penning  these  Sketches  of  the  early  establish- 
ment of  the  Church  in  New  England,  —  as  there  are 
now  five,  where,  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  there 
was  but  one  Diocese,  —  we  give,  for  the  convenience 
of  future  historians,  under  the  head  of  each,  such 
facts  as  may  be  in  our  possession. 

Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick,  upon  his  return, 
after  his  visitation  of  the  Eastern  portion  of  the  Dio- 
cese in  1827,  as  will  be  seen  under  the  head  of 
PORTLAND  DIOCESE,  still  had  but  one  priest  in  the 
city  to  assist  him,  Rev.  P.  Byrne,  with  whom  he  al- 
ternated in  the  duties  of  preaching  every  Sunday  and 
Holy  Day,  performing  the  baptisms,  celebrating  the 
marriages,  attending  constantly  at  the  confessional, 
visiting  the  sick,  and  attending  at  interments;  yet, 
independently  of  these  laborious  duties,  he  had  also 
taken  a  class  of  young  theologians,  whom  he  in- 
structed daily  in  the  science  of  divinity,  hoping  that, 
at  a  future  day,  they  would  be  able  to  take  part  in 
the  duties  of  the  ministry,  and  become  useful  and 
active  laborers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard.  And  in  this 
hope  he  was  not  disappointed.  These  students  were 
to  him,  to  use  his  own  expression,  like  another  self. 
He  lavished  on  them  every  care  ;  his  house  was  their 
house,  his  table  their  table,  his  time  entirely  at  their 
disposal,  and  they  lived  with  him  as  at  their  father's 


128  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

house,  receiving  lessons  in  theology  from  his  own 
lips,  and  profiting  by  his  experience ;  and  his  profi- 
ciency in  all  the  ecclesiastical  sciences,  and  his  knowl- 
edge of  the  human  heart,  and  his  experience,  were 
second  to  no  man's. 


THE  FIRST   ORDINATION  BY  BISHOP  FENWICK  IN 
BOSTON. 

The  Ember  Days  of  December,  1827,  saw  two  of 
these  young  Ecclesiastics,  who  had  learned  from  the 
wise  experience  of  their  spiritual  father,  and  been 
taught  the  ecclesiastical  sciences  in  his  house,  pro- 
moted to  the  holy  office  of  the  priesthood,  —  Rev. 
Messrs.  Fitton  and  Wiley. 

In  the  mean  while  the  members  of  the  Church 
increasing  throughout  New  England,  and  the  humble 
circumstances  and  limited  means  of  many  precluding 
the  possibility  of  their  journeying  miles  distant  to 
receive  the.  aids  of  religion,  it  became  necessary  for 
the  good  Bishop,  whose  pastoral  care  extended  to  all, 
to  select  one  of  his  little  band  of  priests  to  attend  the 
distant  calls.  The  appointment  fell  to  the  lot  of  the 
author  of  these  sketches,  whom  we  shall  henceforth 
designate  as  the  Missionary. 

His  first  tour  was  to  the  Passamaquoddy  tribe  of 
Indians,  Maine,  where  he  was  taught  the  importance 
of  that  divine  admonition  of  being  unsolicitous  about 
"  food  and  raiment ;  "  an  admonition  which,  till  then 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.       129 

young  and  inexperienced,  he  had  read  in  Scripture, 
but  which  he  soon  understood  practically.  He  then 
learned  that  a  priest  of  the  church  should  be  com- 
pletely detached  from  the  things  of  this  world  ;  that 
his  duties  are  purely  of  a  spiritual  character;  that 
gold  and  silver,  fine  clothing  and  dainty  living,  are 
altogether  foreign  to  his  calling.  He  ever  after 
blessed  what  he  called  the  happy  days  of  his  first 
mission,  where  he  learned  the  sufficiency  of  this 
world's  daily  comforts  in  a  plentiful  meal  of  fish. 

On  this  mission,  he  exercised  the  twofold  office  of 
priest  and  pedagogue.  The  object  for  which  he  had 
been  specially  commissioned  was,  to  fortify  the  In- 
dians, and  particularly  the  youthful  portion,  in  the 
Catholic  faith,  and  frustrate  the  designs  of  a  certain 
Puritan  or  Congregational  minister,  who,  to  the  nom- 
inal character  of  school  teacher  and  preacher  of  the 
"  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  In- 
dians of  North  America,"  united  the  office  of  col- 
porteur, distributing  his  Protestant  Bibles,  and  using 
other  no  less  potent  means  —  for  gold  and  silver  are 
powerful  auxiliaries,  at  times,  for  pliant  and  rapid 
conversions  —  to  pervert  the  faith  of  the  youthful 
Indians. 

In  this  attempt,  however,  he  was  foiled  in  time  by 
the  foresight  of  the  great  and  good  Bishop  Fenwick, 
who  loved  all  his  children  so  well,  and  who  sent  the 
Catholic  missionary  once  more  among  them.  The 
devoted  Indian  youth  soon  rallied  around  the  standard 
of  the  cross  floating  over  their  school-house,  while 
the  pious  canticles  of  faith  were  again  heard  as  they 
9 


130  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

paddled  their  canoe  on  the  bosom  of  the  bay,  or 
roamed  the  forest  in  pursuit  of  game.  There  were 
at  the  time,  at  Pleasant  Point,  as  the  village  is  called, 
between  three  and  four  hundred  souls,  of  whom  about 
sixty  attended  school. 

For  other  information  of  the  duties  of  the  mission- 
ary among  the  Indians,  see  PORTLAND  DIOCESE. 


ST.  MARY'S  CHURCH,  CHARLESTOWN. 

For  the  greater  convenience  of  those  who,  as  me- 
chanics and  laborers,  were  employed  at  the  Navy 
Yard,  Charlestown,  and  at  the  glass  works,  East 
Cambridge,  as  well  as  for  their  families,  and  that 
their  children  particularly  might  have  the  benefit  of 
more  frequent  instruction,  the  Bishop,  having  selected 
the  site,  blessed  the  foundation  of  the  present  St. 
Mary's  Church,  October  3,  1828.  The  building,  which 
was  subsequently  enlarged,  during  the  administration 
of  Very  Rev.  P.  F.  Lyndon,  was  originally  eighty  by 
forty-five  feet,  and  the  congregation  were  attended, 
small  as  were  their  number  at  the  time,  by  the  clergy 
from  the  Cathedral  till  the  month  of  July,  1830,  when 
Rev.  Patrick  Byrne,  the  only  priest  found  at  the 
arrival  of  the  Bishop  in  Boston,  was  appointed  pas- 
tor, and  held  this  responsible  station  till  June,  1843, 
when  -the  faithful  at  New  Bedford,  soliciting  the 
Bishop  for  a  priest  to  reside  amongst  them,  he  se- 
lected Father  Byrne,  who  had  also  the  Island  of 
Nantucket,  which  he  attended  till  his  death,  Decem- 


PROGRESS   OF   THE   CHURCH   IN   THE    DIOCESE.       13! 

ber  4,  1844.  Agreeably  with  his  wishes,  while  living, 
his  remains  were  interred  at  St.  Augustine's  Cemeteiy, 
South  Boston. 

Reverend  Fathers  Byrne  and  Ryan  had  been  among 
the  first  priests  ordained  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  De 
Cheverus  for  the  Boston  diocese,  and  long  and  faith- 
fully did  these  two  good  priests,  originally  from  Kil- 
kenney,  Ireland,  labor  during  the  infancy  of  the 
Church  in  New  England,  Father  Byrne,  in  Boston, 
and  Father  Denis  Ryan,  at  Whitefield,  and  the  neigh- 
boring missions  of  Maine. 

The  remains  of  Father  Byrne,  accompanied  by 
Rev.  Fr.  Murphy  of  Fall  River  and  Rev.  Fr.  O'Beirne 
of  Taunton,  together  with  numbers  of  his  late  parish- 
ioners, were  brought  to  the  Cathedral,  where,  on  the 
morning  of  the  6th  of  December,  several  private 
masses  having  been  said,  Rev.  George  Goodwin,  his 
successor  at  Chai'lestown,  offered  the  Solemn  Re- 
quiem in  presence  of  a  large  number  of  the  clergy, 
the  Bishop  himself  pronouncing  the  funeral  oration. 
The  corpse  was  then  borne  to  its  last  resting-place 
on  earth,  and  interred  near  the  Sacristy  of  the  little 
church  of  St.  Augustine,  where  he,  when  living,  had, 
in  years  gone  by,  performed  the  last  rites  of  religion 
over  many  of  those  for  whose  spiritual  welfare  and 
eternal  interest  he  had  faithfully  labored. 

His  funeral  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of 
those  who  once  formed  his  charge  at  the  Cathedral, 
Charlestown,  and  New  Bedford,  and  the  clergy,  Rev. 
Messrs.  Hardy,  Lyndon,  Haskins,  and  Crudden,  of 
the  Cathedral ;  Rev.  Messrs.  Flood  and  O'Reilly,  of 


132  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

St.  Mary's,  Endicott  Street ;  Rev.  Mr.  T.  Lynch,  of 
St.  Patrick's,  Northampton  Street ;  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzsim- 
mons,  of  St.  Augustine's,  South  Boston ;  Rev.  Mr. 
McMahon,  of  St.  John's,  the  Free  Church  ;  Rev.  N. 
O'Brien,  of  St.  Nicholas's,  East  Boston ;  Rev.  G. 
Goodwin,  celehrant  of  the  Mass ;  Rev.  P.  O'Beirne, 
of  Quincy ;  Rev.  Ed.  Murphy,  of  Fall  River,  and 
Rev.  John  O'Beirne,  of  Taunton. 

Rev.  George  J.  Goodwin,  successor  of  Rev.  P. 
Byrne,  at  Charlestown,  was  born  of  Protestant  parents, 
and  became  a  convert  to  the  Church  in  his  sixteenth 
year,  and  from  that  hour  determined  to  consecrate 
himself  to  God,  and  live  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of 
others. 

Having  completed  his  classical  and  philosophical 
studies,  and  begun  the  study  of  divinity  at  Montreal, 
he  went  to  Paris,  where,  under  the  direction  of  those 
eminent  masters  of  piety  and  ecclesiastical  science, 
the  children  of  the  sainted  Olier,  he  distinguished 
himself  by  his  talents,  while  by  the  purity  and  amenity 
of  his  manners,  the  ingenuousness  and  warmth  of  his 
heart,  he  became  universally  esteemed  and  beloved. 
Having  completed  his  course,  he  was  ordained  at 
Paris,  and  shortly  after  returned  to  Boston.  In  a  few 
months  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  St.  Mary's,  in 
Charlestown,  in  which  charge  he  continued  till  his 
death,  September  13,  1847.  He  was  remarkable  for 
his  zeal,  his  discretion,  and  his  eminent  success  in 
reclaiming  the  victims  of  error,  and  winning  the  un- 
believing and  indifferent  to  the  love  and  practice  of 
our  holy  religion.  He  was  eminently  pious,  unremit- 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.       133 

ting,  and  fervent  in  his  tender  devotion  to  Our  Blessed 
Lady,  from  the  moment  of  his  conversion  to  his  happy 
and  edifying  death. 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE'S,  SOUTH  BOSTON. 

This,  in  1819,  was  originally  erected  for  a  mortuary 
chapel,  and  was  used  as  such  at  interments  which 
were  made,  by  passing  over  what  is  now  called  Dover 
Bridge,  the  only  carriage  way  then  leading  from  the 
city  proper  to  South  Boston.  The  number  of  Cath- 
olics spreading  over  this  suburban  portion  of  the  city, 
and  the  distance  being  so  far  from  the  Cathedral  on 
Franklin  Street,  the  Bishop  had  the  little  chapel, 
in  1833,  enlarged  for  their  accommodation,  and  the 
cemetery,  in  1841,  equally  enlarged  by  the  additional 
purchase  of  the  lots  adjoining. 

The  pastors  were  Rev.  Thos.  Lynch,  from  1833  *° 
1836;  Rev.  John  Mahony,  from  1836  till  his  death, 
1839  ;  Rev.  Michael  Lynch,  from  1839  to  I^4°  5  ^-ev- 
Terence  Fitzsimmons,  from  1840  till  his  appointment 
to  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's  new  church,  in  1844. 


ST.  MARY'S  CHURCH,  ENDICOTT  ST.,  BOSTON. 

Notwithstanding  the  extensive  enlargement  of  the 
Cathedral  in  1827,  such  had  been  the  numerical  in- 
crease of  the  congregation  in  less  than  ten  years  sub- 


134  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

sequently,  that  the  Bishop  deemed  it  advisable  to 
erect  a  second  church  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  city. 
After  several  ineffectual  attempts  to  procure  sufficient 
land  and  a  favorable  location,  he  at  length,  in  1834, 
secured  four  lots,  of  twenty  by  eighty-five  feet  each, 
on  what  was  called  Pond,  now  Endicott  Street,  and 
such  was  his  anxiety  to  accommodate  the  many,  un- 
able to  find  room  at  the  Cathedral,  that,  superintend- 
ing the  erection  of  the  building  himself,  amid  his 
many  other  official  duties,  he  had  the  basement  so  far 
completed  as  to  have  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass 
offered  therein  at  Christmas  the  year  following  ;  from 
which  time  the  same  was  continued  weekly  till  the 
entire  completion  of  the  edifice,  at  Pentecost,  May 
22,  1836,  when  the  church  was  dedicated  to  God,  and 
placed  under  the  special  auspice  of  the  Ever  Blessed 
Virgin  Mary. 

Up  to  this  time  the  congregation  had  been  attended 
by  some  one  of  the  clergy  from  the  Cathedral.  After 
its  dedication,  Rev.  William  Wiley  attended  the  con- 
gregation to  April,  1837.  -He  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Messrs.  P.  O'Beirne,  Michael  Healy,  Thomas  J. 
O'Flaherty,  John  B.  Fitzpatrick,  and  Patrick  Flood, 
till  1847,  wnen  it  was  placed  in  charge  of  Rev.  Father 
McElroy,  S.  J. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  STATISTICS. 

THE  PUPILS  AT  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  IN  1829.  —  At 
an  examination  of  the  pupils  attending  the  Sunday 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.       135 

school  in  1829,  there  were  at  the  Cathedral  three 
hundred  and  eighty,  at  St.  Mary's,  Charlestown,  sev- 
enty, and  at  East  Cambridge,  fifty  ;  thus  making  an 
average  attendance  of  about  five  hundred. 

The  following  table  shows  the  census  of  the  Cath- 
olics of  the  Diocese  ten  years  after  the  arrival  of 
Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick,  i.  e.,  in  1835  :  — 

Catholics.  Priests.             Churches. 

Massachusetts,     28,975  14  8,  and  3  building. 

Maine,                    3^50  6  6     "    2       " 

New  Hampshire,     387  2  2 

Vermont,                5*620  2  i 

Rhode  Island,         1,230  I  3 

Connecticut,               72°  2  2 

Total,  40,082         27       22,  and  5  unfinished. 

Table  of  the  census  of  the  Diocese  in  1845,  twenty 
years  after  the  arrival  of  Bishop  Fenwick,  omitting 
the  States  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island,  erected 
into  a  new  Diocese  in  1844:  — 


Catholics.  Priests.  Churches, 

Massachusetts,    52,990         21            22  n 

Maine,                    5^45           5             10  7 

New  Hampshire,  i  ,450           22  9 

Vermont,               5s9IJ           2              3  5 


136  SKETCHES,    ETC. 


ST.  VINCENT'S  ORPHAN  ASYLUM,  BOSTON. 

In  the  year  1832,  Sister  Ann  Alexis,  Sister  Blan- 
dina,  and  Sister  Loyola,  young,  zealous,  and  devoted 
members  of  the  Sisters  of  Charity,  arrived  in  Boston, 
and  under  the  patronage  of  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fen- 
wick,  opened  a  free  school  for  girls  in  Hamilton 
Street.  With  the  introduction  of  these  ladies  to  the 
city  dates  the  origin  of  the  above  charitable  Institu- 
tion. The  Catholic  population  of  Boston  were  then 
few  in  numbers,  and  comparatively  poor,  and  the 
project  of  even  purchasing  a  dwelling-house  for  an 
Orphan  Asylum  was  a  great  undertaking. 

The  first  effort  made  to  raise  a  fund  for  the  purpose 
was  on  the  2d  of  October,  1833,  being  the  festival 
of  the  Guardian  Angels.  A  Fair  for  the  benefit  of 
the  orphans  was  opened  at  Concert  Hall,  and  the 
proceeds,  amounting  to  about  two  thousand  dollars, 
were  placed  at  interest,  with  the  intention  to  acid  to 
them,  from  time  to  time,  such  funds  as  might  be 
received,  anticipating,  with  God's  blessing,  that  the 
sum  might  be  so  increased  as  to  realize  the  ardent 
wishes  of  the  pious  originators  of  the  design. 

A  second  Fair,  for  the  same  object,  was  opened 
at  Horticultural  Hall,  on  School  Street,  the  2d  of 
September,  1839,  which  also  yielded  about  two  thou- 
sand dollars  ;  and  from  a  third  Fair,  in  Amory  Hall, 
on  the  2oth  of  October,  1841,  the  proceeds  amounted 
to  about  three  thousand  dollars. 

The  proceeds  of  these  three  Fairs  were  increased 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.       137 

by  several  small  legacies,  including  one  thousand 
dollars  from  John  Mullanphy,  of  St.  Louis,  which 
summed  up  the  amount  to  nine  thousand  dollars. 
Encouraged  with  this  amount,  a  building  on  the  cor- 
ner of  High  and  Pearl  streets  was  purchased,  Novem- 
ber 1 6,  1841,  for  eleven  thousand  dollars,  the  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  paying  for  the  building  in  full,  having 
borrowed  the  balance  of  the  money  on  his  own 
responsibility. 

It  will  be  thus  seen  that  it  required  nine  years, 
from  the  time  of  the  arrival  of  the  Sisters  in  Boston, 
to  raise  funds  sufficient  to  purchase  a  building  and 
establish  an  Orphan  Asylum,  while  there  are  those 
still  living  who  remember  that  the  result  of  the  Fairs 
at  the  time  were  looked  upon  as  almost  marvellous, 
particularly  that  at  Amory  Hall. 

During  those  nine  years,  however,  the  Sisters  of 
Charity  were  not  idle.  The  schools  under  their 
charge  flourished  and  prospered.  Many  of  the  most 
respectable  matrons,  now  in  the  city,  look  back  upon 
the  years  they  attended  these  schools  as  the  happiest 
of  their  lives.  In  their  temporary  home,  the  good 
Sisters  also  frequently  sheltered  many  a  poor,  friend- 
less, and  destitute  child.  The  good  work  they  had 
already  accomplished  became  manifest,  and  they  were 
not  only  respected  and  loved  by  Catholics,  but  by  the 
citizens  generally  of  all  denominations. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Sisters  in  Boston,  outward 
respect  was  deeply  marked  and  manifested.  The 
Cathedral  on  Franklin  Street  was  then  attended  by 
the  Catholics  generally  throughout  the  city,  and  the 


138  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

sidewalks  in  front  were  well  rilled  on  Sundays  about 
half  an  hour  before  services  commenced.  The  Sisters 
always  walked  in  procession  with  their  little  orphans, 
and  Sunday  School  children  following,  headed  gen- 
erally by  the  very  respectable  person  of  Mr.  Ward, 
then  an  aged  and  well  known  Catholic  citizen.  As 
soon  as  the  procession  of  little  ones  reached  Franklin 
Street,  Mr.  Ward  always  made  the  fact  known  to 
the  assembled  Catholics,  by  saying,  "  Gentlemen,  the 
Sisters  are  coming."  In  a  moment  every  head  was 
uncovered,  and  the  Sisters,  with  their  band  of  chil- 
dren, entered  the  church  amid  the  blessings  of  the 
assembled  multitude. 

Early  in  1845  the  building  occupied  by  the  Sisters 
was  found  insufficient  for  the  purpose,  and  the  Pray 
estate,  so  called,  a  fine  commodious  and  well-built 
house  on  Purchase  Street,  was  purchased  for  the  sum 
of  eighteen  thousand  dollars. 

In  the  mean  time  the  fourth  Fair  realized  only 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  in  consequence  of  bad 
weather  during  its  continuance ;  but  for  the  success 
of  the  fifth,  for  which  Faneuil  Hall  was  secured  in 
the  fall  of  1850,  extraordinary  exertions  were  made. 
The  result  of  this  Fair  was  fully  up  to  expectation, 
the  handsome  sum  of  three  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  having  been  realized.  All  the  debts  were 
now  paid  on  the  building  occupied  by  the  Sisters, 
and  the  balance  left  from  the  proceeds  of  this  Fair 
was  made  the  nucleus  for  a  New  Asylum,  their  pres- 
ent residence  having  become  full  to  overflowing,  and 
altogether  inadequate.  The  want  of  the  New  Asylum 


PROGRESS    OF    THE   CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.       139 

soon  became  so  manifest,  that  in  November,  1855, 
about  forty-five  thousand  feet  of  land  was  purchased 
on  the  corner  of  Shawmut  Avenue  and  Camden 
Street,  for  the  sum  of  twenty-one  thousand  dollars. 
Upon  this  site  the  building  was  commenced  in  the 
spring  of  1857,  an<^  occupied  in  1858.  Its  cost, 
completed,  including  land,  was  eighty-one  thousand 
dollars,  and  so  far  as  its  internal  arrangements  are 
concerned,  is  considered  a  model  of  its  kind.  Dis- 
tinguished Catholic  clergymen  and  others  have  pro- 
nounced it  one  of  the  best  buildings  of  the  kind  in 
the  country,  comparing  very  favorably  with  similar 
buildings  abroad.  It  is  a  noble  monument  of  Cath- 
olic charity,  estimated,  at  this  day,  at  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars. 

During  the  forty  years  that  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
have  been  in  Boston,  Sister  Ann  Alexis  has  stood  at 
the  head  of  the  great  work,  care  of  the  poor  and  the 
orphan,  for  which  the  Institution  of  the  Sisters  is 
known  the  world  over.  No  labor  has  been  too  great 
or  arduous  for  her  to  undertake.  Work,  work,  work, 
early  and  late,  for  the  protection  of  the  orphan  and 
the  glory  of  God,  has  been  her  occupation  from  the 
first  day  she  arrived  in  the  city  to  the  present  time. 

Sister  Blandina,  one  of  the  three  Sisters  who  first 
came  to  Boston  in  1832,  is  still  at  her  post,  minister- 
ing to  the  poor  and  the  orphan  with  a  vigor  unabated, 
and  a  countenance  almost  as  youthful  as  remembered 
long  years  ago.  Sister  Loyola  has  passed  to  that 
*'  bourn  from  whence  no  traveller  returns."  She  is 
now,  we  trust,  in  the  enjoyment  of  that  inheritance 


140  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

which  alone  a  Sister  of  Charity  hopes  for  or  lives 
for  —  an  eternal  crown. 

In  connection  with  this  brief  history  of  St.  Vin- 
cent's Orphan  Asylum,  we  may  add  its  incorporation 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  on  the 
23d  of  March,  1843.  The  gentlemen  named  in  the 
act  of  incorporation  were  Thomas  Murphy,  Lawrence 
Nichols,  Wm.  J.  McDonnell,  Roger  Flynn,  and  Henry 
B.  C.  Greene.  The  Directors  since  have  been  Edwin 
A.  Palmer,  appointed  in  1845,  Geo.  F.  Emery,  in 
1849,  John  Boman,  in  1850,  Hugh  O'Brien,  in  1851, 
Francis  McLaughlin,  in  1866,  and  Hugh  Carey,  in 
1869. 

When  the  present  Asylum  was  commenced,  there 
was  only  about  ten  thousand  dollars  in  the  treasury  ; 
but  after  the  work  was  commenced,  it  went  on  with- 
out interruption  until  its  completion,  notwithstanding 
it  was  during  the  severe  panic  of  1857,  — a  vear  °f 
commercial  failures  and  disasters.  The  largest  con- 
tributor to  the  present  building  was  Andrew  Carney, 
Esq.,  who  gave  about  twelve  thousand  dollars  ;  but 
one  of  the  most  energetic  in  pushing  on  the  work  was 
the  late  Daniel  Crowley,  Esq.,  who  paid  the  archi- 
tects' fees,  and  was  otherwise  a  liberal  contributor. 
Some  gentlemen,  also  interested  in  the  Asylum,  but 
whose  names  we  refrain  to  make  public,  as  they  are 
yet  living,  pledged  at  one  time  their  available  per- 
sonal property,  rather  than  the  work  should  be  dis- 
continued. 

Since  the  Asylum  was  opened,  between  two  and 
three  hundred  orphans  have  been  yearly  accommo- 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESK.    14! 

dated  ;  and  among  our  Protestant  fellow-citizens,  the 
late  John  E.  Lodge,  Esq.,  may  be  mentioned  as  the 
most  liberal  benefactor,  making  frequent  donations 
of  clothing,  food,  and  money.  Messrs.  Picard  and 
lasigi  have  also  been  quite  liberal  in  their  donations, 
Mr.  Picard  also  presenting  the  splendid  painting  of 
the  Immaculate  Conception,  by  Murillo,  now  over 
the  Altar  in  the  Chapel,  estimated  to  be  worth  twenty 
thousand  dollars,  —  the  sum,  in  fact,  offered  for  it  by 
J.  E.  Lodge,  Esq.  The  main  reliance,  however,  of 
the  orphans  has  been  the  generous  support  of  the 
Catholics,  and  with  the  blessing  of  God,  since  the 
Asylum  was  first  organized,  there  has  always  been 
money  enough  in  the  treasury  to  pay  all  floating 
debts,  and  to  provide  the  necessaries  of  life  for  the 
Sisters  and  their  orphans  —  now  a  very  large  family. 
There  is  at  present  a  small  debt  on  the  Asylum  of 
about  five  thousand  dollars,  the  result  of  an  additional 
building  called  for,  the  erection  of  which  cost  about 
twelve  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  while  the  prop- 
erty, as  already  stated,  is  estimated  to  be  worth  at 
least  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dollars, 
—  a  noble  monument  of  charity  ! 


ST.  PATRICK'S  CHURCH,  NORTHAMPTON  ST.,  BOSTON. 

The  faithful  of  the  easterly  portion  of  the  city 
having  been  provided  with  church  accommodations, 
there  was  a  similar  want  felt  for  those  residing  at  the 


142  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

South  End,  and  the  adjoining  town  of  Roxbury. 
The  Bishop,  solicitous  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  all, 
was  again  in  pursuit  of  a  favorable  location,  and  one 
that  might  be  the  most  central.  He  at  length,  April 
24,  1835,  decided  upon  the  lot  on  Northampton 
Street,  measuring  ninety  by  sixty  feet,  which  he  pur- 
chased at  a  valuation  which  was  then  considered 
fair,  which  now  would  be  regarded  as  singularly 
favorable  to  the  purchaser,  —  twenty-five  cents  the 
square  foot. 

Excavations  for  the  foundation  of  a  church  sixty- 
five  by  forty-five  feet,  were  commenced  in  October 
of  the  same  year,  and  the  building  completed  De- 
cember ii,  1836,  when  it  was  dedicated  to  God,  un- 
der the  patronage  of  St.  Patrick.  Rev.  Thomas 
Lynch  was  appointed  pastor,  —  a  sacred  trust,  which 
he  held  most  faithfully,  and  sustained  assiduously  till 
the  hour  of  his  death,  March  27,  1870. 


ST.  JOHN'S  CHURCH,  EAST  CAMBRIDGE. 

The  crowded  state  of  the  church  at  Charlestown, 
and  the  increasing  numbers  of  the  faithful  at  East 
Cambridge,  —  without  mentioning  children,  whose 
numbers  were  sufficient  to  fill  the  church,  —  prompted 
the  faithful  of  East  Cambridge  to  invite  the  Bishop 
to  look  at  a  lot  which  they  deemed  eligible,  and  upon 
which,  with  his  approbation,  they  were  decided  to 
build  a  church  for  themselves.  The  site  being  ap- 


RG?"    REV.    BISHOP    FITZPATRICK. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     143 

proved  of,  the  lot  was  purchased,  January  29,  1842. 
With  the  opening  spring  the  foundation  was  laid  ;  in 
April,  it  was  blessed  ;  and  in  autumn  of  the  same 
year,  October  9,  the  building  was  so  far  advanced  as 
to  admit  of  the  holy  Sacrifice  being  offered  in  the 
basement. 

The  entire  church,  of  blue  slate-stone,  from  the 
Somerville  quarry,  was  soon  completed,  and  being 
neatly  finished,  was  blessed,  September  3,  1843,  and 
placed  in  charge  of  Rev.  John  B.  Fitzpatrick,  who 
had  said  the  first  Mass,  and  who  was  appointed  its 
first  pastor. 


DIOCESAN  SYNOD. 

The  year  1842  was  one  of  great  rejoicing  to  the 
Bishop  and  Clergy  of  the  Boston  Diocese.  It  was 
the  first  assembling  of  all  the  clergy  for  an  eight 
days'  Spiritual  Retreat,  conducted  by  Rev.  Father 
McElroy,  S.  J.,  at  the  conclusion  of  which,  Au- 
gust 21,  the  First  Synod  of  the  Diocese  was  held. 

At  this  Synod,  the  Divine  assistance  being  im- 
plored, all  was  carried  out  as  prescribed  by  the  Ro- 
man Pontifical.  The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  celebrated 
the  Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  at  which  the  clergy 
assisting  received  Holy  Communion. 

Very  Rev.  William  Tyler,  V.  G.,  being  Promoter, 
Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Callaghan,  Procurator,  and  Rev. 
John  B.  Fitzpatrick,  Secretary,  the  Clergy  at  the  feet 
of  the  Bishop,  fulfilled  the  formula,  as  prescribed  in 


144  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

the  Pontifical.  The  Sessions  were  then  opened,  and 
all  was  conducted  to  the  end  in  the  greatest  peace 
and  harmony. 

The  names  of  those  present  were,  — 

RIGHT  REV.  J.  B.  FENWICK. 

Very  Rev.  William  Tyler,  Rev.  Adolph  Williamson, 
Rev.  Richard  Hardy,          Rev.  Patrick  Byrne, 
Rev.  James  Fitton,  Rev.  Jas.  T.  McDermott, 

Rev.  John  O'Beirne,  Rev.  Michael  Lynch, 

Rev.  William  Ivers,  Rev.  John  Brady, 

Rev.  William  Wiley,     •      Rev.  P.  O'Beirne, 
Rev.  Edward  Murphy,       Rev.  Fr.  Roloff, 
Rev.  John  B.  Daly,  Rev.  John  Corry, 

Rev.  Patrick  Flood,  Rev.  James  O'Reilly, 

Rev.  Thomas  O'Sullivan,  Rev.  John  D.  Brady, 
Rev.  John  Strain,  Rev.  Jer'h.  O'Callaghan, 

Rev.  John  B.  Fitzpatrick,  Rev.  Patrick  Canavan, 
Rev.  Thomas  Lynch,          Rev.  John  B.  McMahon, 
Rev.  Ter'ce  Fitzsimmons,  Rev.  T.  J.  O'Flaherty, 
Rev.  Denis  Ryan,  Rev.  James  Conway. 


ST.  JOHN'S  FREE  CHURCH,  MOON  ST.,  BOSTON. 

Notwithstanding  the  church  accommodations  that 
had  been  provided  within  the  last  few  years,  there 
were  still  those  who  had  not  provided  themselves 
with  seats,  or  were  indifferent  about  being  seated  in 
any  particular  church,  or  felt  too  poor  to  subscribe 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.    145 

towards  the  support  of  any.  That  none  might  have 
excuse  for  absenting  themselves  from  Mass,  or  for 
not  duly  observing  the  Lord's  day,  the  Bishop,  in  the 
fervor  of  his  zeal  and  generosity  of  his  heart,  pro- 
jected the  erection  of  what  should  be  known  as  the 
FREE  CHURCH.  In  furtherance  of  this  benevolent 
design,  he  authorized  Rev.  John  B.  McMahon,  No- 
vember 20,  1842,  to  receive  the  offerings  of  those  who 
were  able  and  felt  disposed  to  aid  this  pious  en- 
terprise. 

The  Bishop  learning,  January  17?  J&KJ,  that  the 
substantial  brick  building  on  Moon  Street,  measuring 
sixty  by  forty-two  feet,  which  had  originally  been 
erected  for  a  store-house,  could  be  easily  fitted  up  and 
serve  this  admh-able  purpose,  and  that  the  same 
could  be  purchased  for  eight  thousand  dollars,  au- 
thorized Rev.  Fr.  McMahon  to  secure  it.  This  build- 
ing was  subsequently  very  neatly  fitted  up,  and  with 
its  altar,  organ,  choir-gallery  and  settee-framed  seats, 
was  opened  to  all,  free  of  expense,  and  Reverend 
Father  McMahon  appointed  pastor. 


SS.  PETER'S  AND  PAUL'S  CHURCH,  SOUTH  BOSTON. 

The  connection  of  South  Boston  with  the  city 
proper  by  the  free  bi'idge  from  Federal  Street,  the 
introduction  of  extensive  and  heavy  mechanical 
works,  and  the  adding'  its  thousand  acres  for  private 
residences,  and  homes  of  ready  access  to  the  indus- 
10 


146  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

tiious  of  every  class,  soon  rendered  St.  Augustine's 
little  church  in  the  cemetery  too  limited  for  the  many 
who  would  attend  Mass  on  Sundays,  and  partake  of 
the  other  aids  of  religion.  Another  and  more  spa- 
cious church  was  thus  called  for,  and  in  December, 
1843,  a  desirable  lot  having  been  secured  on  Broad 
Street,  the  foundation  of  a  spacious  stone  Gothic 
structure  was  immediately  commenced,  and  the 
building  so  far  advanced  that  the  basement  story  was 
prepared  for  the  purpose  of  divine  service  as  early  as 
February,  1844,  and  all  completed  in  1845,  when 
Rev.  Terence  Fitzsimmons,  formerly  of  St.  Augus- 
tine's, was  appointed  its  pastor. 


TRINITY  CHURCH,  SUFFOLK  STREET,  BOSTON. 

For  the  accommodation  of  the  faithful  from  Ger- 
many, among  whom  were  those  who  were  not  famil- 
iar with  the  English  language,  but  dearly  attached  to 
holy  religion,  and  who  sought  its  consolations  in  a 
strange  land,  and  having  no  priest  from  whom  they 
might  hear  the  holy  Gospel  explained  in  mother 
tongue,  the  Bishop  invited  Rev.  Father  Rafteiner, 
pastor  of  the  German  congregation  in  New  York,  to 
visit  Boston  from  time  to  time,  to  preach,  and  admin- 
ister the  sacraments  in  the  Cathedral,  for  their  spe- 
cial benefit. 

Their  numbers  increasing  in  the  city,  at  East  Bos- 
ton, Roxbury,  and  adjacent  suburban  districts,  a 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.    147 

church  lot  on  Suffolk  Street  was  secured  in  July, 
1841,  upon  which  the  corner-stone  of  a  substantial 
edifice,  ninety  by  sixty  feet,  was  laid  with  due  cer- 
emony June  28,  1842,  and  the  structure  so  far  com- 
pleted as  to  admit  of  the  services  of  religion  in  the 
basement,  March  3,  1844.  While  the  interior  of  the 
main  building  was  being  finished,  the  congregation 
were  attended  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Roloff  and  Plathe, 
successively.  The  Church  completed,  it  was  sol- 
emnly dedicated  by  Right  Rev.  J.  B.  Fitzpatrick, 
October  25,  1846,  and  Rev.  Alexander  Martin,  O.  S. 
F.,  was  appointed  its  pastor. 


SS.  VINCENT'S  CHURCH,  PURCHASE  ST.,  BOSTON. 

The  earnest  call  for  church  accommodations  on 
the  part  of  the  Catholics  residing  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Hill,  induced  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick, 
the  worthy  successor  of  Bishop  Fenwick,  to  secure, 
for  the  sum  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  the  large 
granite  meeting-house  of  the  "  Purchase  Street  Uni- 
tarian Society." 

Having  been  fitted  up,  it  was  opened  for  divine 
service,  May  14,  1848,  under  the  title  of  St.  Vincent's. 
After  a  benedictio  loci  by  the  Bishop,  High  Mass 
was  sung  by  Rev.  N.  O'Brien,  and  the  choir,  com- 
posed exclusively  of  boys  and  girls,  sang  Dementi's 
Mass  in  C,  with  great  correctness  and  taste.  After 
the  Gospel,  the  Bishop  preached  on  the  necessity  of 


148  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

belief  in  mysteries  in  a  divine  religion.  The  con- 
gregation that  crowded  every  nook  and  corner  of  the 
spacious  edifice  would  have  been  sufficient  to  fill 
another  church  of  the  same  dimensions. 


CHURCH  OF  EAST  BOSTON. 

The  history  of  East  Boston,  as  forming  an  impor- 
tant pai't  of  the  city  proper,  may  be  said  to  have  be- 
gun with  the  formation  of  the  East  Boston  Company. 
This  company  was  incorporated  by  the  legislature  of 
Massachusetts  on  the  25th  of  March,  1833,  and  the 
beginning  and  growth  of  the  improvements  upon  the 
island  was,  for  the  first  few  years,  but  the  history  of 
the  operations  of  the  company,  as  it  was  the  mover 
in,  and  was  identified  with,  the  commercial  and  man- 
ufacturing enterprises  which  give  to  East  Boston  its 
character  and  importance. 

The  land,  comprising  six  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
was  originally  put*  into  a  common  stock,  and  divided 
into  thirteen  hundred  and  twenty  shares,  each  share 
representing  half  an  acre.  When  lands  were  sold, 
the  proceeds  were  to  be  passed  to  the  credit  of  the 
company,  constituting  the  fund  from  which  its  ex- 
penses were  paid  and  its  dividends  were  made.  It 
was  soon  thought  best,  however,  to  increase  the  num- 
ber of  shares,  and,  by  a  vote  of  the  stockholders, 
changes  were  made  from  time  to  time,  and  at  length 
permanently  fixed  at  twenty  thousand. 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN   THE    DIOCESE.     149 

One  of  the  first  and  most  important  subjects  de- 
manding the  attention  and  action  of  the  company 
was  the  location  of  streets.  The  narrow  and  crooked 
streets  of  Boston  were  a  continual  and  sufficient 
warning  to  the  proprietors  to  lay  out  wide  and 
straight  streets  on  the  island  before  houses  and  stores 
were  built,  for  in  this  way  only  could  regularity  and 
convenience  be  secured  ;  and  we  cannot  do  otherwise 
than  acknowledge,  in  our  day,  the  wisdom  and  fore- 
sight of  the  projectors  of  the  beautiful  avenues  that 
now  traverse  every  portion  of  the  Island  ward. 

In  the  settlement  of  East  Boston,  many  adopted 
citizens,  and  their  immediate  descendants,  held  a 
conspicuous  place.  They  were  among  the  first  who, 
with  strong  arms  and  willing  hearts,  came  to  level 
the  hills,  fill  up  the  low  lands,  drain  the  marshes, 
erect  docks,  and  map  the  island  with  its  present  wide 
and  spacious  streets  and  pleasant  squares.  The 
names  of  Crowlcy,  McManus,  Cummisky,  and  others, 
were  among  the  first  of  the  permanent  householders, 
among  the  first  to  build,  and  the  first  with  whom  con- 
tracts were  entered  into  for  the  general  improvement. 

With  the  rapid  growth  of  this  delightful  portion 
of  the  city,  destined  to  become  the  great  depot  of  our 
commerce,  many  others,  professing  the  creed  of  the 
Catholic  Church,  with  those  already  mentioned,  here 
sought  employment,  either  as  mechanics,  tradesmen, 
or  laborers,  or,  crossing  over  from  the  more  densely 
populated  parts  of  Boston,  came  to  purchase  lots,  or 
erect  private  dwellings  for  themselves. 

The  first  child,  now  living,  who  was  born  on  the 


I5O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

island,  was  Thomas  J.  Lavery,  son  of  Matthew  and 
Jane  Lavery.  He  was  born  on  the  i7th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1833,  in  a  house  on  Saratoga  Street,  which  was 
then  occupied  by  three  families,  Mr.  Lavery,  Mary 
Trotten,  and  Mr.  McNulty. 

In  consequence  of  the  increasing  numbers  of  the 
faithful,  and  the  inconvenience  of  leaving  their  fam- 
ilies tp  attend  divine  service  in  the  city  proper,  it  was 
proposed  by  Mr.  Daniel  Crowley  and  others  to  erect, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop,  'a  place  of  wor- 
ship for  themselves.  While  deliberating  upon  the 
most  desirable  site  for  this  object,  a  legally  notified 
meeting  of  the  "  Maverick  Congregational  Society " 
came  together  on  the  24th  of  January,  1844,  at  which 
a  vote  was  passed  to  sell  their  meeting-house  and 
land  for  the  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars ;  that  a 
committee  of  three  be  raised  to  carry  this  into  effect ; 
and  that  the  treasurer,  Mr.  W.  R.  Lovejoy,  be  au- 
thorized to  sign  a  deed  of  conveyance  to  such  person 
as  the  committee  should  designate.  The  Catholics, 
availing  themselves  of  this  favorable  opportunity, 
came  forward,  the  first  of  February,  six  days  after 
this  suggestion,  as  willing  purchasers  of  the  property, 
and  thus  secured  for  themselves  and  children  a  place 
to  assemble  for  public  worship. 

The  house  having  undergone  some  alterations,  and 
an  Altar  having  been  erected,  it  was  dedicated  to 
God,  under  the  patronage  of  St.  Nicholas.  The  first 
clergyman  appointed  to  the  charge  of  the  congrega- 
tion was  Rev.  N.  J.  A.  O'Brien,  which  office  he  dis- 
charged till  his  recall  to  the  Cathedral  in  March, 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     151 

1847.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  McCal- 
lion,  who,  for  the  better  accommodation  of  the  in- 
creasing numbers,  and  with  the  sanction  of  the  suc- 
cessor to  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick,  Bishop  Fitz- 
patrick,  enlarged  the  church  some  forty  feet,  and 
administered  to  the  wants  of  the  congregation  till 
November,  1851.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Wiley,  who  held  the  responsible  situation,  fulfil- 
ling every  duty  with  zeal  and  piety,  till  removed  by 
death,  April  19,  1855. 

To  afford  to  the  still  increasing  number  of  Cath- 
olics more  ample  church  room,  the  necessity  of  which 
may  be  deduced  from  the  fact,  that  while  in  1844 
the  number  baptized  was  fifty-eight,  the  baptisms  for 
1854,  just  ten  years  afterwards,  were  three  hundred 
and  thirty-eight.  Father  Wiley,  a  few  months  pre- 
vious to  his  death,  projected,  with  the  approbation  of 
the  Bishop,  the  erection  of  the  substantial  and  impos- 
ing stone  edifice,  located  on  the  corner  of  Maverick 
and  London  Streets,  on  a  line  with  the  frame  church 
on  the  corner  of  Maverick  and  Havre  Streets,  an  in- 
termediate space  of  thirty-five  feet  being  left  between 
the  two  upon  which  the  parochial  residence  stands. 

Encouraged  by  the  anticipated  zealous  co-operation 
of  the  congregation,  he  laid  the  foundation  and  com- 
pleted the  basement  walls  of  this  noble  structure, 
which  is  sixty  by  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet  in 
the  interior,  and  for  the  most  part  above  ground  and 
well  lighted.  Having  contracted  for  materials,  and 
made  other  arrangements  to  further  the  work,  he 
could  do  no  more.  In  the  fifty-second  year  of  his 


152  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

age,  and  the  twenty-eighth  of  his  priesthood,  he  was 
prostrated  on  the  bed  of  suffering,  from  which  he 
never  rose. 

The  day  of  the  funeral  obsequies  of  Rev.  Fr. 
Wiley,  Rev.  F.  X.  Branagan  was  sent  to  attend  the 
immediate  spiritual  necessities  of  the  congregation, 
while  Rev.  J.  Fitton,  who  had  just  completed  the 
magnificent  church  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  was  solicited 
to  accept  the  pastorship  of  East  Boston.  Like  many 
incidents  that  appear  striking,  when' viewed  in  the 
distance,  the  latter  reverend  gentleman  little  thought 
he  had  decided  upon  work  for  himself  when  he  en- 
couraged Father  Wiley  to  build  a  stone,  rather  than 
as  contemplated,  a  brick  church  ;  but  such  was  the 
result.  As  soon  as  arrangements  could  be  made  by 
Right  Rev.  B.  O'Reilly,  Bishop  of  the  Hartford  dio- 
cese, he  came  to  carry  on  the  work  of  his  departed 
bosom  friend,  Rev.  Father  Wiley. 

We  will  here  give  a  brief  description  of  the 
church  of  "  Most  Holy  Redeemer."  The  plan  of  the 
church  is  Gothic,  of  the  thirteenth  century  style,  one 
hundred  and  ten  by  sixty-two  feet  in  the  interior,  with 
a  chancel  twenty-eight  by  twenty-three  feet,  and  sa- 
cristies on  either  side.  The  main  walls  are  covered 
with  a  span  roof,  with  ornamental  slating.  The  inte- 
rior is  divided  into  finely  proportioned  nave  and  aisles, 
and  of  sufficient  height  for  beauty  of  effect,  voice, 
ventilation,  and  all  other  conveniences.  At  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  church  there  is  a  very  substantial, 
as  well  as  ornate,  tower  and  spire  of  nearly  two  hun- 
dred feet,  which  forms  a  conspicuous  beacon  for  the 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN   THE    DIOCESE.      153 

guidance  of  travellers  for  miles  around.  In  this  is 
placed  a  sweet-toned  bell  of  upwards  of  two  thousand 
pounds.  The  walls  of  the  building  are  massive,  and 
of  solid  masonry,  supported  by  buttresses,  and  built 
in  the  very  best  manner.  The  cabinet  work  and 
entire  of  wood  finish  is  all  of  seasoned  chestnut,  shel- 
lacked and  varnished,  which  makes  a  very  durable 
and  rich  finish  without  the  expense  of  paint.  The 
high  altar  and  tabernacle,  with  its  elaborate  carving, 
emblems  and  ornaments,  and  the  chapel  altars  of 
Mary  Immaculate,  together  with  that  of  St.  Patrick, 
and  their  rich  tracery,  are  beautiful  specimens  of  art, 
as  they  are  of  devotion. 

A  very  conspicuous  feature  in  this  edifice  is  the 
style  of  the  windows,  which,  being  lancet,  so  called, 
with  emblematic  designs  in  the  heads,  are  filled  as 
usual  with  stained  glass  and  borders,  while  the  lead 
sash  is  inserted  in  skeleton  frames,  that  rise  and  fall 
with  ordinary  weights  and  pulleys,  whereby  abundant 
ventilation  is  given  in  summer,  and  the  cold  is  shut 
out  in  winter. 

Every  foot  of  this  church  is  occupied  on  Sundays 
and  Holy  Days  by  a  large  congregation,  while  the 
former  church  is  equally  filled  with  a  congregation 
of  children,  gathered  together  for  catechetical  and 
other  religious  instruction  on  Sundays,  and  on  week 
days,  to  the  number  of  seven  hundred  girls,  who  are 
educated  by  the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  besides  being 
used  for  the  devotional  exercises  of  the  single  and 
married  Ladies'  Sodalities,  and  for  Library  purposes. 

The  organ  of  the  church  of  "  Most  Holy  Redeemer  " 


154  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

is  an  instrument  of  rare  sweetness,  purity,  and  of 
unequalled  magnificence  of  tone.  Externally  it  is 
twenty-six  feet  high,  twenty-nine  feet  wide,  and  ten 
and  a  half  feet  deep,  and  of  a  style  corresponding 
with  the  architecture  of  the  church.  It  is  of  a  very 
novel  construction,  being  built  so  as  to  show  the  nave 
window  of  the  church  between  its  principal  parts. 
The  key-board  is  extended  from  the  front  of  the  in- 
strument, and  is  seen  projecting  from  the  front  of  the 
gallery,  after  the  style  of  the  choir  organs  in  European 
cathedrals,  —  the  organist  facing  the  altar. 

The  basement  chapel  of  this  church,  with  its  fold- 
ing doors,  is  divided  into  different  compartments 
while  used  for  catechetical  instruction,  which  at  mass 
and  vespers  are  thrown  open,  affording  a  view  of  the 
altar  to  fourteen  hundred  children  and  their  teachers. 

While  speaking  of  the  church  of  East  Boston, 
though  in  point  of  time  going  beyond  our  intention 
in  these  sketches,  we  will  add,  that  since  the  erection 
of  the  church  of  Most  Holy  Redeemer,  such  has  been 
the  progress  of  religion  that  a  second  church,  "  Star 
of  the  Sea,"  a  frame  building  of  forty-seven  by  ninety- 
one  feet,  erected  on  the  fourth  section  in  1868,  and 
capable  of  seating  eight  hundred,  is  already  filled  ; 
and  a  third  church,  the  "  Assumption  of  our  Lady," 
on  the  first  section,  commenced  August  29,  1869,  and 
in  the  basement  of  which  mass  was  first  offered  on 
the  festival  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord,  the  same 
year,  is  already  crowded  with  a  congregation  of  thir- 
teen hundred  souls,  and  where  the  female  children, 
to  the  number  of  three  hundred,  are  daily  taught  by 


PROGRESS    OF   THE   CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     155 

the  Sisters  of  Notre  Dame ;  and  on  the  third  section, 
so  called,  a  lot  is  secured  for  the  fourth  church,  which 
will  soon  be  needed  for  that  growing  portion  of  the 
Island,  which  church,  as  already  contemplated,  is  to 
be  under  the  special  patronage  of  St.  Joseph. 


THE  CHURCH  AT  SALEM. 

Salem,  the  first  town  next  to  Plymouth  settled  in 
New  England,  enjoyed  formerly  great  commercial 
prosperity  while  in  active  trade  with  the  East  Indies 
and  China.  This,  her  reputation  as  a  great  trading 
mart,  introduced  citizens  from  abroad,  and  among 
them  a  few  Catholic  families. 

From  the  most  reliable  information  gained,  we  learn 
that  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass,  first  offered  in 
Salem,  was  by  Rev.  Father  Thayer,  in  the  Court 
House,  which  was  loaned  him  by  the  citizens,  both 
anxious  to  see  a  Catholic  priest,  and  know  what  the 
mass  really  was.  This  must  have  been  near  to  the 
close  of  the  last  century.  In  after  years,  among  other 
stations  attended  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  De  Cheverus, 
Salem  was  visited  monthly,  and  mass  celebrated  in  a 
house  occupied  by  a  Mr.  Connolly,  on  Herbert  Street, 
at  which  time  there  were  about  twenty-five  families, 
—  three  of  French,  and  the  rest  of  Irish  nationality. 

.At  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812,  a  Mr.  Newport, 
liberated  from  Dartmouth  prison,  England,  returned 
to  his  home  at  Salem,  and  in  the  fervor  of  his  zeal 


156  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

commenced,  in  1815,  collecting  from  house  to  house, 
among  the  little  congregation  of  Catholics,  funds  for 
the  erection  of  a  small  church  for  their  mutual  accom- 
modation. This  church,  humble  in  its  dimensions, 
was  built  about  1817,  and  though  interiorly  unfin- 
ished, was  used  for  the  purpose  of  divine  worship 
till  a  much  later  period.  When  mass  was  therein 
offered,  in  1821,  by  Rev.  P.  McQuade,  of  Boston, 
and  attended  by  the  writer,  the  lathing  had  not  re- 
ceived the  first  coat  of  mortar.  At  the  first  visit  of 
Bishop  Fenwick,  in  1826,  it  was  plastered  interiorly, 
but  funds  were  as  yet  too  limited  to  allow  of  the  first 
coat  of  paint  exteriorly.  Rev.  Fr.  Mahony,  who  had 
been  affiliated  to  the  diocese  in  1826,  was  appointed, 
in  1827,  to  look  after  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  faith- 
ful here  and  at  Lowell,  —  a  duty  which  he  discharged 
with  the  utmost  fidelity,  till  the  last  place  mentioned, 
becoming  an  extensive  manufacturing  district,  and 
demanding  the  special  services  of  a  resident  clergy- 
man, Fr.  Mahony  was  settled  among  them. 

After  his  departure,  Rev.  William  Wiley,  who, 
since  his  ordination  in  1827,  had  officiated  at  the 
Cathedral,  was  appointed,  in  the  month  of  Septem- 
ber, 1831,  to  attend  the  congregation  at  Salem,  in 
connection  with  the  rising  church  of  Waltham. 

Ever  active  and  full  of  zeal,  he  soon  completed 
and  beautified  the  little  church  of  Salem,  and  had 
it  blessed  by  the  Bishop  the  first  of  January,  1832. 
Rev.  Father  Convvay,  who  succeeded  Father  Wiley, 
made  an  addition  to  the  length  of  the  church,  and 
enlarged  the  interior  by  the  introduction  of  galleries. 


PROGRESS   dF   THE    CHURCH    IN   THE    DIOCESE.     157 

The  congregation  was  subsequently  attended  by  Rev. 
Messrs.  John  D.  Brady,  Strain,  and  O'Flaherty  :  the 
last  Rev.  Father  departed  this  life  March  29,  1846; 
since  which  time  other  churches,  schools,  asylums, 
and  religious  societies  have  risen  up,  the  interesting 
account  of  which  we  leave  to  the  future  historian, 
confining  ourselves  merely,  as  intended,  to  the  first 
churches  erected. 


CHURCH  AT  LOWELL. 

Rev.  Father  Mahony,  to  whom,  in  1827,  na^  been 
assigned  the  spiritual  charge  of  the  Catholics  at 
Salem,  visited  Lowell,  October  8,  of  the  same  year : 
returning  to  Boston,  he  reported  to  the  Bishop  that 
there  were  twenty-one  families  and  thirty-one  unmar- 
ried men  already  settled  there.  These  were  visited  by 
the  Bishop  in  person,  October  28,  1828,  when  he 
offered  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass  in  a  temporary 
building,  which  had  been  ei'ected  for  the  twofold  pur- 
pose, for  mass  on  Sundays  and  Holy  Days,  and  for  a 
day  school,  where  the  children  were  taught  catechism, 
and  the  ordinary  English  branches,  by  a  schoolmaster, 
whose  time  and  talents  had  been  previously  devoted 
to  the  same  employ  in  Ireland. 

The  water  power  having  been  introduced,  and  the 
erection  of  factories  commenced,  and  the  numbers 
of  the  faithful  having  increased  to  about  four  hundred 
souls,  the  church  of  St.  Patrick,  a  frame  building, 


158  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

seventy  by  forty  feet,  was  projected  in  the  month  of 
July,  1830;  and  such  was  the  harmony  and  united 
zeal  in  the  enterprise,  that  in  twelve  months  from  the 
date  at  which  it  was  commenced,  it  was  dedicated, 
at  which  cheering  event,  July  3,  1831,  thirty-nine  were 
admitted  to  the  sacrament  of  Confirmation. 

During  the  above  spiritual  and  temporal  advance- 
ment of  Catholicity  in  Lowell,  Rev.  Father  Mahony 
was  always  at  his  post,  superintending  the  wants  of 
all,  whether  parents  or  children,  till  February,  1836, 
when  he  was  transferred  to  the  charge  of  the  impor- 
tant and  growing  congregation  of  St.  Augustine's, 
South  Boston. 

Rev.  James  McDermott  was  appointed  successor 
to  Father  Mahony,  and  continued  the  good  work  that 
he  had  commenced,  and  the  congregation  continuing 
to  increase,  Rev.  James  Conway,  in  December,  1839, 
was  appointed  as  an  assistant.  In  less  than  two  years, 
through  the' united  exertions  of  these  brother  clergy- 
men, the  accommodations  at  St.  Patrick's  were  found 
inadequate,  and  a  second  church  needed  ;  for  this  a 
lot  was  secured  in  August,  1841,  upon  which  Rev. 
Father  Conway  built  a  brick  church,  St.  Peter's, 
ninety  by  sixty  feet,  which,  being  finished,  was  dedi- 
cated to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God,  October  16, 
1842,  and  Rev.  Father  Conway,  who  superintended 
the  work  from  the  foundation  to  its  completion,  was 
appointed  its  first  pastor. 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  DIOCESE.    159 

CHURCH  AT  NEW  BEDFORD. 

The  few  sons  of  faith  who  formerly,  from  one  cir- 
cumstance or  another,  had  found  employment  and 
a  home  miles  distant  from  altar  or  priest,  while  in 
health  and  prosperity  could  retire  to  the  woods,  or 
some  lonely  spot,  and  spend  Sundays  in  prayer,  and 
unite,  as  best  they  might  in  spirit,  with  those  more 
peculiarly  blessed  with  religious  instruction  and  the 
holy  Sacrifice  of  mass  ;  but  when  the  hour  of  sickness 
or  death  approached,  they  felt  most  keenly  their  priva- 
tion, and  the  loneliness  of  their  condition  in  a  strange 
land.  Their  only  redress  then  was,  to  wait  the  re- 
turning messenger  who  had  gone  with  all  haste,  or 
remain  patiently  for  an  answer  to  their  request,  for- 
warded by  post,  telling  their  anxiety  for  the  aids  of 
religion  before  leaving  this  world.  Telegraphs  there 
were  none,  rail  cars  and  other  improved  and  expedi- 
tious methods  of  modern  conveyance,  none ;  the  mail 
stage,  if  the  distance  was  far,  running  day  and  night 
at  the  rate  of  six  or  seven  miles  an  hour,  was  the 
fastest  and  most  reliable  mode  of  travelling. 

Amongst  the  first  of  such  distant  calls  received  by 
our  young  missionary,  after  his  ordination,  was  one  to 
New  Bedford.  The  call  was  urgent ;  a  poor  old  man, 
it  w&s  said,  was  near  his  end  ;  the  call  came  late,  the 
stage  coach  had  left ;  the  only  way,  therefore,  was  a 
private  conveyance ;  with  this  all  haste  was  made 
that  evening  and  night,  but  on  arriving,  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  our  missionary  found  that  the  soul  of 


l6o  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

the  poor  old  man  had  departed !  He  had  died,  it 
was  said,  with  contrition  in  his  heart,  and  with  his 
last  words  lamenting,  "  O,  if  I  but  had  the  rites  of 
my  Church."  We  merely  allude  to  such  events  to 
encourage  the  grateful  acknowledgments  of  those  who 
now  enjoy,  too  often  heedlessly,  their  many  spiritual 
privileges. 

The  earliest  information  we  have  of  any  permanent 
settlement  made  by  Catholics  at  New  Bedford  was 
in  1820,  when,  attended  occasionally  by  Rev.  Father 
Larasy,  they  erected  a  small  frame  building,  small 
in  reality,  as  we  remember  it,  located  among  rocks, 
and  enclosed  with  a  high  board  fence,  and,  as  it  ap- 
peared to  us,  the  last  desirable  spot  in  the  town. 
Father  Larasy,  who  was  a  priest  of  the  order  of  St. 
Augustin,  having  left  Boston  for  Philadelphia,  the  few 
Catholics  residing  at  New  Bedford  were  attended,  in 
1828,  and  had  mass  offered  for  their  spiritual  benefit 
once  in  every  two  months,  by  Rev.  R.  D.  Woodley. 
The  congregation  having  increased  to  the  number  of 
two  hundred  and  forty,  were  attended,  from  1842  to 
January  1844,  by  Rev.  James  O'Reilly.  Continuing 
to  increase  in  numbers,  and  promising  to  build  a  larger 
and  more  convenient  house  for  divine  worship,  and 
to  support  a  resident  pastor,  Rev.  P.  Byrne,  formerly 
of  St.  Mary's,  Charlestown,  was  sent  to  them,  and 
was  authorized  by  the  Bishop  to  attend  at  the  same 
time  the  few  Catholic  residents  at  Nantucket  Island. 


PROGRESS   OF   THE    CHURCH    IN   THE   DIOCESE.     l6l 


CHURCH  AT  TAUNTON. 

As  in  reminiscence  of  early  days  at  New  Bedford, 
we  have  hinted  at  the  propriety,  while  in  life,  of  be- 
ing prepared  for  death,  and  alluded  to  the  living  grati- 
tude due  for  present  spiritual  advantages  enjoyed  over 
that  of  generations  passed  away,  so  before  entering 
upon  the  dry  details  of  the  establishment  of  the  Church 
at  Taunton,  —  details  similar  to  those  of  many  other 
towns,  —  we  have  to  record  all  we  know  of  the  first 
visit  of  a  clergyman,  which  was  to  administer  the  last 
Sacraments  to  a  dying  Christian.  Dry  details,  we 
say,  for  many,  perhaps,  may  so  account  our  labors  ; 
but  we  know  not  how  to  make  these  sketches  other- 
wise, for  to  tell  of  the  humble  means  collected  from 
house  to  house  wherewith  to  erect  churches,  of  the 
disappointments  experienced  where  much  had  been  an- 
ticipated, of  the  oft-repeated  story  of  priests  "  always 
looking  for  money,"  and  the  much  to  say  on  the  part 
of  those  who  generally  did  the  least !  to  speak  of  the 
toil  and  drudgery,  the  debts  contracted,  the  interest 
to  meet,  and  ci'editors  to  satisfy,  as  has  been  the  case 
in  many  instances  for  the  smallest  of  the  first  churches 
erected,  would  only  add  to  the  aridity  of  our  jour- 
nal ;  we,  therefore,  content  ourselves  with  giving 
simply  the  dates  of  their  origin,  the  names  of  the 
clergy,  and  the  commencement  of  former  labors,  that 
others  may  have  a  starting  point  for  the  interesting 
history  they  will  record  of  the  progress  of  Catholicity 
since. 

ii 


l62  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

At  the  first  visit  of  the  missionary  to  Taunton,  be- 
sides attending  the  sick,  there  were  other  Sacraments 
administered.  One  of  the  few  families  of  the  place 
had  been  blessed  with  an  heir  to  their  estate,  and  their 
little  one  was  baptized ;  in  addition  to  which,  there 
was  mass  and  a  marriage  and  nuptial  benediction, 
which  we  mention,  not  only  because  the  Church  en- 
courages the  reception  of  this  Sacrament  at  Holy 
Mass,  but  in  illustration  of  the  faith  and  piety  of  the 
early  Catholic  settlers  of  Taunton,  who  in  this  were 
actuated  by  the  spirit  of  religion,  and  obedient  to  its 
laws,  and  left  an  example  to  their  descendants.* 

The  first  clergyman  appointed  to  attend  the  Catho- 

*  In  connection  with  the  marri.ige  alluded  to,  there  was 
a  wedding,  which  we  remember  distinctly,  as  it  was  the  first 
we  had  ever  attended ;  and  it  was,  substantially,  satisfactorily, 
and  in  every  sense  what  our  unsophisticated  ancestors  under- 
stood by  a  wedding,  prior  to  the  modern  fashionable  fly- 
away kind  of  weddings,  with  embossed  card  compliments 

of  Mr.  and  Mrs. .  It  was  what  we  conceived  to  be  a 

good  old-fashioned  wedding,  to  which  friends,  relatives,  and 
all  well-wishers  were  invited.  As  far  as  we  remember,  there 
was  a  long  table,  and  plates  for  all.  There  were  meats, 
roast  and  boiled,  fresh  and  salt,  potatoes  in  heaps,  and  cab- 
bage in  abundance,  with  all  else  the  season  afforded ;  and 
not  the  least  conspicuously  accompanying  this  substantial 
meal,  with  tea  for  the  ladies,  was  piled  up  a  pyramid  of  that 
of  which  each  might  carry  a  slice  to  their  little  ones  at  home, 
called  in  these  days  ginger-bread,  but  then  "  sweet-bread." 

This  plain  simplicity  of  a  wedding  of  other  days  may  pro- 
voke a  smile,  but  nevertheless,  though  fashions  may  change, 
it  was  then  considered  satisfactory  and  highly  commenda- 
ble. 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.      163 

lies  at  Taunton,  and  say  mass  monthly,  was  Rev.  R. 
D.  Woodley.  Hearing  of  their  devotion  and  mutual 
edification,  the  Bishop  visited  them  in  the  month  of 
June,  1831,  when,  by  invitation,  he  preached  in  the 
Town  House,  and  administered  Confirmation  to  thir- 
ty-one individuals  ;  selecting  at  the  same  time  a  lot  of 
land,  upon  which  he  encouraged  the  little  congrega- 
tion to  build  a  church. 

This  church,  a  frame  building  of  fifty -two  by  thirty- 
eight  feet,  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  dollars,  was  built 
by  the  united  efforts  of  the  faithful,  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  successor  of  Father  Woodley,  Rev.  John 
Corry,  and  was  blessed  by  the  Bishop  at  his  second 
visit,  October  28,  1833,  at  which  time  the  adult  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  were  estimated  at  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty.  Rev.  Fr.  Corry  attended  the  Catholics 
here,  and  at  Fall  River  and  Newport,  till  his  services 
were  more  particularly  needed  at  Providence,  R.  I., 
when,  in  1837,  ne  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  William 
Wiley,  who  enlarged  and  beautified  the  little  church, 
and  the  congregation  were  again  visited  and  blessed 
by  the  Bishop,  December  8,  1838,  on  which  occasion 
he  administered  Confirmation  to  forty-two  persons, 
who  had  been  prepared  for  the  reception  of  this  Sacra- 
ment. 


CHURCH  AT  SANDWICH. 

The  faithful  of  this  town,  who,  for  the  most  part, 
were  employed  in  the  large  manufactory  of  glass,  by 


164  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

which  more  than  one  quarter  of  the  population  were 
supported,  were  visited  the  early  part  of  1830  by 
Rev.  William  Tyler,  who,  upon  his  return  to  Boston, 
reported  the  spiritual  destitution  and  earnest  wishes 
of  the  community.  The  Bishop,  solicitous  for  the 
welfare  of  every  portion  of  his  vast  diocese,  visited 
Sandwich  in  person,  in  the  month  of  June  the  same 
year,  and  said  mass  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Doyle. 
Learning  the  number  of  the  faithful,  and  solicitous 
especially  for  those  who  had  families,  he  encouraged 
the  erection  of  a  small  church,  where  they  might  as- 
semble on  Sundays,  promising  them  the  services  of  a 
clergyman,  and  the  privilege  of  mass,  and  instruc- 
tion, as  often  as  possible,  with  the  few  he  had  at  his 
command.  The  enterprise  was  entered  into  with 
spirit,  and  the  little  congregation,  small  as  were  their 
number,  contributing  generously  of  their  daily  earn- 
ings, had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  their  little  church, 
under  patronage  of  St.  Peter,  blessed  the  following 
month  of  September ;  from  which  time  they  were 
attended  by  some  one  of  the  clergy  in  connection  with 
other  stations. 


CHURCH  AT  WALTHAM. 

This  was  a  frame  building,  of  fifty  by  thirty-five 
feet,  erected  in  1830,  and  although  not  finished,  for 
want  of  funds,  as  the  congregation  were  but  few,  and 
their  means  limited,  still  it  was  occupied  for  divine 
service  on  Sundays  whenever  a  clergyman  from  the 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.      165 

Cathedral,  or  from  some  neighboring  station,  could  be 
spared.  Our  missionary,  whose  stations  at  the  time 
dotted  the  country  from  Boston  to  New  York  State 
line,  gave  this  place  a  portion  of  his  attention,  and 
put  the  church  in  somewhat  better  condition  for  di- 
vine worship.  In  1839,  wnen  the  congregation  were 
estimated  at  about  three  hundred  souls,  Rev.  F.  Fitz- 
simmons  was  authorized  by  the  Bishop  to  attend  their 
spiritual  wants.  The  congregation  increasing  in  num- 
bers, he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Michael  Lynch,  and 
upon  his  appointment  to  another  district,  Rev.  Father 
Flood  became  their  pastor.  It  was  during  his  zeal- 
ous care  over  the  flock  that  the  church,  June  4,  1848, 
was  burned  to  the  ground.  The  firemen  of  the  com- 
panies of  the  towns  of  West  Newton,  Newton  Cen- 
tre, and  of  Watertown,  worked  nobly  to  save  the 
building,  but  in  vain.  The  Selectmen  of  Waltham 
offered  a  large  reward  for  the  detection  of  the  incen- 
diary, and  the  same  day  proffered  the  Catholics  the 
free  use  of  the  Town  Hall  for  divine  worship,  as  also 
most  generously,  and  with  commendable  liberality, 
the  Unitarian  Society  deputed  their  minister,  Rev. 
Mr.  Hill,  and  Dr.  Mulliken,  to  offer  Father  Flood 
and  his  parishioners  their  house  of  worship  for  divine 
service. 


CHURCH  AT  WATERTOWN. 

Rev.  P.  Flood,  of  whom  mention  is  made  in  con- 
nection with  the  Church  of  Waltham,  attended  the  few 


l66  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Catholics,  who,  in  1846,  were  living  at  Watertown, 
Brighton,  and  the  districts  of  Newton.  Finding  that 
Watertown  embraced  the  largest  number  of  the  faith- 
ful, and  that  there  was  apparently  a  prospect  of  their 
increase,  Rev.  Fr.  Flood,  in  conjunction  with  the  few 
Catholic  citizens  of  Watertown,  petitioned  the  select- 
men for  the  use  of  the  Town  Hall  till  their  means 
would  allow  them  to  build  a  small  house  for  public 
worship ;  this,  their  petition,  through  the  chairman, 

Mr.  H ,  was  positively  refused.      Far,    however, 

from  being  discouraged  at  this  disappointment  on  the 
part  of  those  from  whom  they  anticipated  warmer 
encouragement  for  keeping  the  Lord's  Day  holy,  they 
persevered  in  their  efforts,  and  independent  of  those 
in  high  authority,  for  time  being,  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining the  use  of  what  was  known  as  the  "  Whig 
Reading-room,"  located  on  the  Square.  Here  the  lit- 
tle congregation  continued  to  assemble  for  divine 
worship  till  they  purchased  the  meeting-house  belong- 
ing formerly  rto  the  Methodist  Society,  which,  being 
remodelled,  was  the  first  Catholic  church  in  Water- 
town. 

The  congregation  continuing  to  increase,  and  de- 
manding still  larger  accommodations,  and  co-operat- 
ing with  their  zealous  pastor,  they  secured  for  them- 
selves the  site  of  the  present  St.  Patrick's  church,  the 
corner-stone  of  which  was  blessed  by  the  Bishop, 
attended  by  Rev.  Fr.  Flood,  the  pastor,  and  Rev.  P. 
O'Beirne,  September  27,  1847,  and  in  December  fol- 
lowing, the  church  being  roofed,  and  though  other- 
wise unfinished,  served  the  congregation  for  divine 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN   THE    DIOCESE.      167 

service  on  Sundays ;  and  by  extraordinary  and  per- 
severing efforts  on  the  part  of  pastor  and  people,  it 
was  completed  and  dedicated  to  God  by  the  month 
of  June  the  year  following,  1848. 

Such,  as  in  so  many  instances,  we  have  to  record, 
was  the  result  of  faith  and  perseverance  of  the  few, 
.and  for  the  most  part  of  limited  means,  who  laid  the 
foundations  of  our  early  Churches  in  New  England. 


CHURCH  AT  FALL  RIVER. 

The  first  church  at  Fall  River,  a  frame  building, 
sixty  by  forty  feet,  was  built  in  1836,  by  the  united  ef- 
fort of  those  who  were  among  the  first  employed  in 
preparing  the  foundations  of  those  many  heavy  and 
substantial  manufacturing  establishments,  which,  since 
their  erection,  have  given  employment  to  thousands. 

Previous  to,  and  while  the  church  was  being  erected, 
which  was  opened  for  divine  service  the  2ist  of  Au- 
gust, 1837,  Rev.  John  Corry  said  mass  as  often  as 
circumstances  permitted,  and  attended  the  spiritual 
wants  of  the  faithful  till  November  22,  when  the  con- 
gregation had  a  resident  pastor  in  Rev.  Richard  Har- 
dy, till  April  6,  1840;  he  having  been  transferred  to 
assist  the  Bishop  at  the  Cathedral,  the  Rev.  Edward 
Murphy  was  appointed  pastor.  For  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  increased  number  of  the  faithful,  he  im- 
mediately commenced  the  enlargement  of  the  church  ; 
and  such  was  the  confidence  in  their  pastor,  and  the 


l68  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

good  will  of  the  congregation  in  seconding  his  efforts, 
that  the  work  was  forwarded  with  such  rapidity  as  to 
see  all  completed  by  the  3Oth  of  August  the  same 
year,  blessed  and  dedicated  to  God,  under  the  title  of 
St.  John  Baptist. 

This  enlarged  church  itself  becoming  in  a  very  few 
years  scaixe  sufficient  for  the  convenience  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  congregation,  whose  spiritual  welfare  the 
pastor  always  looked  upon  as  the  first  of  his  obliga- 
tions, he  commenced  the  present  magnificent  stone 
edifice,  which  he  has  been  spared  to  see  completed, — 
one  of  the  largest,  ornate,  most  substantial  and  beau- 
tiful among  all  the  Gothic  churches  of  the  diocese. 


CHURCH  AT  SAXONVILLE. 

The  faithful  at  this  village  were  attended  by  our 
missionary  as  early  as  1834,  when  mass  was  offered 
in  one  of  the  largest  rooms  of  a  private  house  near 
to  what  then  was  Mr.  Knights's  carpet  factory.  In 
the  course  of  time,  the  little  congregation  having  been 
augmented  by  additional  operatives  at  the  woollen 
factory,  the  holy  Sacrifice,  by  permission  of  the  au- 
thorities, was  offered  in  the  school-house.  With  funds 
contributed  on  the  part  of  the  congregation,  the  site 
for  a  church  and  cemetery  was  bought  in  1842.  The 
missionary,  at  the  solicitation  of  his  Bishop,  having 
been  assigned  to  the  charge  of  Rhode  Island,  was  suc- 
ceeded at  Worcester  by  Rev.  Adolphus  Williamson, 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.      169 

whose  health  becoming  impaired,  was  assisted  by 
Rev.  Mathew  Gibson,  who  for  a  while  officiated  at 
Saxonville. 

In  the  Catholic  Observer,  of  July,  1848,  we  find 
that  "  the  church  at  Saxonville,  under  the  title  of  St. 
George,  was  dedicated  to  God  on  the  Feast  of  the 
Most  Holy  Trinity.  The  ceremony  of  the  blessing 
was  performed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  of  the  Dio- 
cese. Rev.  Messrs.  Williams  and  O'Brien,  of  the 
Cathedral,  assisting  as  Deacons  of  honor.  The  mass 
was  sung  by  Rev.  J.  Boyce,  of  Worcester.  After  the 
Gospel,  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Ryder  preached  in  his  most  elo- 
quent strain.  At  the  end  of  the  mass,  the  Bishop  also 
addressed  the  congregation,  lauding  them  for  what 
they  had  already  done,  and  exhorting  them  to  perse- 
vere in  their  efforts  for  the  advancement  of  religion 
and  in  their  love  for  the  house  of  God.  Rev.  George 
T.  Riordan,  pastor  of  Saxonville,  has  labored  with 
great  energy  and  great  success  in  the  noble  work  of 
finishing  St.  George's  church,  which  is  a  credit  alike 
to  his  good  taste  and  his  zeal." 


CHURCH  AT  QUINCY. 

An  acre  of  land  having  been  secured  in  the  month 
of  November,  1841,  the  first  church  in  this  town, — 
a  neat  little  edifice,  —  was  erected  through  the  united 
exertions  and  pious  good  will  of  those  employed  at 
the  quarry,  and  dedicated  to  God  under  the  title  of  St. 


I7O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Mary's,  September  18,  1842,  at  which  time  the  faith- 
ful were  attended  by  Rev.  T.  Fitzsimmons,  of  South 
Boston. 


CHURCHES  AT  CHELSEA  AND  LYNN. 

When  in  1844  the  Catholic  residents  of  East  Bos- 
ton fitted  up  their  church  for  the  purpose  of  divine 
worship,  the  first  public  building  erected  on  the  island, 
which  they  had  bought  of  the  "  Maverick  Congrega- 
tional Society,"  it  was  intended,  as  it  afforded  ample 
accommodation,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Catholics  of 
Chelsea,  as  well  as  for  themselves.  The  congrega- 
tion, however,  of  Chelsea,  solicitous,  after  a  while,  for 
more  convenient  accommodations,  especially  for  their 
children,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  commis- 
sioned Rev.  Fr.  John  O'Brien  to  look  after  their  spir- 
itual wants  in  connection  with  those  living  at  Lynn, 
Newburyport,  and  other  eastern  sections  of  the  State. 
Rev.  Fr.  O'Brien  having  eventually  selected  Newbury- 
port as  the  head-quarters  of  his  mission,  Rev.  Charles 
Smyth  was  appointed  his  successor  at  Chelsea  and 
Lynn,  who  in  1849  purchased  two  small  houses,  the 
most  convenient  to  be  had  at  the  time,  one  at  Lynn 
and  another  at  Chelsea,  which  being  fitted  up  served 
the  purpose  for  divine  worship  till  the  present  spacious 
and  handsome  brick  churches  were  erected,  under 
the  supervision  of  Rev.  P.  Strain,  the  present  pastor 
of  Lynn,  Rev.  James  McGlew,  having  been  ap- 
pointed his  successor  at  Chelsea. 


PROGRESS   OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE. 


CHURCH  AT  MILFORD. 

The  following  communication  appeared  in  the 
Observer  of  August  21,  1847.  "  ^n  Sunday,  the  8th 
instant,  after  mass,  a  meeting,  presided  over  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Gibson,  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Dom- 
inic McDavitt,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  most  effectual  means  of  erecting  a 
church  to  meet  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  rising  con- 
gregation of  this  place.  A  subscription  list  was 
opened,  and  although  the  greater  part  of  the  congre- 
gation was  not  present  or  apprised  of  it,  the  sum  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  was  collected  on  the 
occasion,  and  the  following  gentlemen  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  collect  funds  and  superintend  the  build- 
ing, viz.,  Messrs.  Hugh  McGown,  Edward  McGov- 
ern,  and  Dominic  McDavitt." 

In  the  month  of  April,  the  year  following,  Rev. 
Fr.  Boyce,  successor  of  Fr.  Gibson,  at  Worcester,  re- 
ceived permission  from  the  Bishop  to  commence  the 
church,  the  foundation  for  which  being  prepared,  the 
corner-stone  was  laid  the  29th  of  the  following  month 
of  July,  on  which  occasion,  in  the  absence  of  any 
more  convenient  place,  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass 
was  offered  in  the  engine-house,  and  the  Bishop,  at 
the  invitation  of  the  citizens,  preached  in  the  after- 
noon in  the  Universalist  meeting-house.  The  year 
following,  November  4, 1849,  the  church  was  blessed, 
on  which  occasion  Rev.  Fr.  Mathew  preached  on 
"  the  holiness  of  the  house  of  God,  and  the  rever- 


172  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

ence  and  respect  due  to  it ; "  and,  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  same  day,  administered  the  temperance  pledge 
to  a  large  number  of  the  congregation,  who  were 
thus  anxious  to  encourage  each  other  in  the  observ- 
ance of  their  baptismal  engagements. 

Having  thus  far  glanced  at  the  establishment  of 
some  of  the  earliest  Churches  in  Massachusetts,  we 
discontinue  our  humble  sketches,  to  record  the  demise 
of  the  great,  the  good,  the  sainted  and  untiring 
laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  our  Lord,  Bishop  Fenwick. 


OBITUARY  NOTICE. 

The  Right  Reverend  BISHOP  FENWICK  was  born 
in  St.  Mary's  County,  Maryland,  on  the  3d  of  Sep- 
tember, 1782,  and  died  August  n,  1846. 

In  his  last  illness,  which  he  bore  with  heroic  forti- 
tude, his  faculties  did  not  for  a  moment  desert  him. 
His  death  was  most  saintly,  and  as  his  dissolution 
approached,  he  uttered  frequent  pious  ejaculations, 
such  as  these :  "  Most  loving  Jesus,  have  mercy  on 
me ; "  "Jesus,  zealous  lover  of  souls,  have  mercy 
on  me." 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  his  death,  the  re- 
mains of  this  holy  Bishop,  clothed  in  fall  episcopalsv 
were  conveyed  to  Holy  Cross  Cathedral,  where  his 
body  lay  in  state  that  night  and  the  following  day. 
Immense  crowds  thronged  the  church,  and  a  great 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     173 

number  of  people  remained  there  all  night,  as  if 
loath  to  part  with  their  saintly  father,  who  loved 
them  so  well,  and  whose  tender  love  they  so  warmly 
reciprocated. 

Amongst  the  crowd  that  flocked  to  Holy  Cross 
were  many  Protestants,  who,  by  their  respectful  and 
subdued  demeanor,  testified  to  the  high  esteem  in 
which  this  great  and  good  man  was  held  by  all 
classes  of  citizens. 

The  city  authorities,  with  a  degree  of  respectful 
consideration  that  cannot  be  too  highly  commended, 
ordered,  upon  hearing  of  Bishop  Fenwick's  illness, 
that  in  the  streets  leading  to  his  house  all  traffic 
should  be  discontinued,  and  likewise  that  the  bells 
of  public  buildings  in  his  neighborhood  should  not 
be  rung.  By  the  simple  force  of  his  blameless  life, 
his  manly  integrity,  and  his  exalted  piety  and  learn- 
ing, had  he  won  "  golden  opinions  from  all  kinds  of 
people,"  even  from  those  who  were  from  principle, 
interest,  or  prejudice  most  strongly  opposed  to  that 
Holy  Church  of  which  he  was  such  a  shining  light. 

On  the  evenings  of  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  fol- 
lowing his  death,  the  office  of  the  dead  was  chanted 
by  the  clergy  of  his  diocese.  A  solemn  requiem 
mass  was  celebrated  on  Thursday,  at  eight  o'clock, 
after  which  his  remains  were  removed  to  Worcester, 
to  be  interred  in  a  spot  chosen  by  himself,  and  which 
was  close  to  the  College  of  Holy  Cross. 

From  numerous  notices  of  the  death  of  this  ven- 
erable prelate  in  the  Protestant  press  of  the  country, 
we  select  the  following,  which  may  be  regarded  as 


174  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

being  perfectly  impartial,  considering  the  source 
from  which  they  are  taken. 

"  His  learning  was  profound,  and  his  piety  unaf- 
fected, while  in  social  intercourse  nothing  of  scho- 
lastic reserve  or  misplaced  austerity  tinged  the  amen- 
ity of  his  manners  and  the  cordiality  of  his  bearing. 
Hence  he  was  alike  respected  and  beloved.  His  loss 
comes  home  to  the  hearts  of  thousands,  who  have  yet 
the  consolation  of  feeling,  that  as  he  lived  a  learned, 
wise,  and  good  man,  so  his  death  was  worthy  of  his 
life."  —  Times. 

"  He  retained  his  senses  to  the  last,  and  died  with- 
out pain.  He  had  many  friends,  even  out  of  his  own 
denomination,  and  will  be  held  in  long  and  kindly 
remembrance  for  the  good  he  has  done  in  the  com- 
munity." —  Advertiser. 

"  Bishop  Fenwick  was  a  learned  scholar,  as  most 
of  his  order  are.  He  was  a  calm,  far-seeing,  and 
zealous  prelate  ;  a  good  Christian,  a  good  citizen,  a 
good  man." —  Courier. 

A  correspondent  to  the  Pilot  newspaper  of  the  29th 
of  August,  1846,  thus  speaks  of  Bishop  Fenwick's 
funeral  obsequies :  — 

"  At  least  fifty  thousand  people  came  to  behold,  for 
the  last  time,  the  Pontiff  of  the  Church  of  God,  and 
though  many  were  strangers  to  our  faith,  and  sym- 
pathized not  with  our  belief,  yet  a  sacred  awe  per- 
vaded .every  heart.  .  .  .  On  Thursday  morning, 
at  eight  o'clock,  began  the  Holy  Sacrifice.  Right 
Reverend  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  officiated,  with  Rev.  Dr. 
Manahan  and  Rev.  Mr.  Lyndon  as  deacon  and  sub- 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     175 

deacon.  .  .  .  Notice  had  been  given  by  telegraph 
to  the  Most  Rev.  Archbishop  and  the  Right  Rev. 
Bishops  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  to 
Georgetown  College,  of  Bishop  Fenwick's  decease. 
Owing,  however,  to  the  derangement  of  the  wires, 
Dr.  Hughes  was  the  only  one  who  received  the  com- 
munication in  time  to  come  to  the  funeral.  . 
The  whole  of  the  mass  was  sung  in  plain  chant. 
After  the  solemn  Introit  Requiem,  and  the  plaintive 
cry  for  mercy,  Kyrie  Eleison,  the  Right  Rev.  Cel- 
ebrant, in  a  voice  scarcely  audible  through  his  sobs 
of  grief,  implored  the  judgment  of  mercy  and  of  love 
for  the  soul  of  the  departed  Pontiff  and  all  responded, 
4  Amen.' 

"After  the  Gospel,  strengthened  by  the  blessing  of 
the  new  Bishop  of  the  diocese,  the  Rev.  N.  O'Brien, 
of  East  Boston,  ascended  the  pulpit.  After  reading 
a  few  verses  from  the  sixth  chapter  of  St.  John,  he 
spoke  to  that  sea  'of  people  of  their  bereavement  and 
their  hopes,  of  the  labors  of  their  deceased  prelate, 
and  the  success  with  which  God,  in  his  goodness, 
had  crowned  them,  and  concluded  by  imploring  him 
from  his  tomb  once  more  to  bless  his  children." 

After  the  three  absolutions  were  pronounced,  the 
procession  formed  and  set  out  for  the  Worcester  de- 
pot. It  consisted  of  Exorcist,  Thurifers,  Cross- 
bearer,  the  clergy  walking  two  and  two,  the  Right 
Reverend  Doctor  Hughes,  Bishop  of  New  York,  and 
the  Right  Reverend  Celebrant,  followed  by  the 
hearse,  beside  which  walked  the  Sisters  of  Charity 
and  the  orphans.  The  different  Catholic  societies 
were  well  represented. 


'176  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Amidst  all  the  grief  and  anguish,  it  was  indeed  a 
consoling  and  a  glorious  sight  to  see  the  Cross,  the 
emblem  of  man's  salvation,  borne  in  procession 
through  the  streets,  and  to  hear  the  sublime  chant 
of  the  Miserere  go  up  to  Heaven,  and  one  could 
almost  hope  that  the  prayer  for  mercy  might  be 
fruitful  in  a  rich  spiritual  harvest,  in  that  city  where 
its  notes  were  probably  by  many  for  the  first  time 
heard. 

On  the  route  of  the  procession  the  stores  were 
closed,  and  business  seemed  to  be  entirely  suspended. 
An  immense  multitude  lined  the  streets,  and  man- 
ifested, by  every  exterior  sign  of  respect  and  sorrow, 
the  greatest  reverence  and  love  for  him  who  had  so 
long  labored  amongst  them. 

On  arriving  at  Worcester,  the  body  was  received 
by  Fr.  Gibson,  the  Collegians,  the  religious  societies, 
and  a  great  concourse  of  people. 

"  The  procession,"  says  the  writer  from  whom  we 
have  quoted  above,  "  again  /ormed,  and  with  the 
renewed  chants  of  the  Church,  ascended  Mount 
Saint  James.  As  it  entered  the  college  grounds,  the 
litany  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  was  intoned,  and  sung 
by  the  whole  people.  *•  Regina  Cleri'  Queen  of 
the  Priesthood,  was  thrice  repeated  as  it  reached  the 
grave,  which  was  then  blessed,  and  dust  was  com- 
mitted to  dust,  ashes  to  ashes,  and  the  spirit  was 
praying,  we  trust,  for  the  orphans  who  remained." 

The  following  extracts  are  from  Bishop  Hughes's 
eulogy  on  Bishop  Fenwick,  delivered  at  the  "  Month's 
mind,"  in  Holy  Cross  Cathedral,  on  the  nth  Sep- 
tember, 1846. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     177 

"  He  has  departed  ;  but  not  until  he  had  surrounded 
himself  with  a  numerous  body  of  pious  and  devoted 
clergy,  whose  warm  affection  for  him  is  his  brightest 
monument.  He  was  their  father,  but  also  their 
equal.  To  them  he  was  an  elder  brother,  their 
counsellor,  their  example.  And  I  may  appeal  to  all 
of  them  to  say  if  there  was  ever  one  instance  when, 
in  sorrow  and  affliction,  they  had  recourse  to  the 
kind,  enlightened,  and  discreet  tenderness  of  their 
Bishop,  without  being  met,  on  his  part,  in  the  spirit 
of  Christian  holiness  and  brotherly  love. 

"  His  sickness  was  another  labor.  It  was  painful 
and  distressing.  It  was  announced  to  him  before- 
hand that  he  could  not  survive  ;  and  he,  the  man  who 
for  forty  years  had  known  no  glory  but  that  of  his 
Master,  and  given  himself  to  no  work  but  that  of 
God  ;  that  man,  notwithstanding  his  humility,  —  if 
that  humility  would  permit,  —  could  look  back 
through  all  his  course  in  life,  and  say,  with  the  Apos- 
tle, '  I  have  fought  the  good  fight,  I  have  kept  the 
faith.' 

u  In  a  word,  from  the  moment  when  first  he  con- 
secrated himself  to  God,  to  the  latest  breath  in  his 
life,  we  find  in  him  but  one  continuous  act,  —  the 
making  himself  a  victim  in  the  cause  of  the  Lord. 

"  Such  was  the  life  of  Bishop  Fenwick.  And  if, 
as  I  have  said,  a  pure,  and  high,  and  holy  motive, 
combined  with  constant  labor  and  the  endurance  of 
all  suffering,  constitute  greatness,  then  was  he  great 
indeed.  Even  in  his  humility  he  was  great.  His 
memory,  as  a  Prince  of  the  Church,  is  great.  The 
12 


178  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

influence  of  his  example  is  great.  And  not  only  was 
he  great  in  life,  but  he  is,  and  will  forever  be  great, 
because  there  is  a  continuity  in  the  works  of  God, 
and  goodness  and  greatness  will  last  throughout  eter- 
nity. We  can  little  conceive  the  true  measure  of 
such  greatness,  unless  we  can  lift  ourselves  above  the 
low  standard  of  life,  and  the  grovelling  propensities 
which  beset  us  in  the  world,  and  seek  to  attain  the 
high  and  pure  atmosphere  of  heaven. 

"  He  sleeps  beneath  the  monument  he  himself  had 
raised,  though  he  dreamed  not  it  would  be  for  him. 
Every  day  a  shadow  from  its  top  is  cast  by  the  sun 
of  heaven  upon  the  bed  of  his  slumber,  and  every 
day  the  pupils  whom  he  taught,  and  whom  he  loved, 
breathe  over  his  1'emains  a  prayer.  When  they  kneel 
before  their  God,  they  offer  a  petition  for  the  repose 
of  his  spirit,  believing  and  knowing  that  he  is  praying 
for  and  watching  over  them,  and  all  of  us. 

"  His  brows  are  now  encircled  by  the  crown  of 
glory  which  Christ,  the  chief  of  Bishops,  has  pre- 
pared for  those  who  with  Him  are  to  reign  forever 
and  ever.  Let  us,  my  beloved  brethren,  endeavor  so 
to  live  that  we  may  make  our  calling  and  election 
sure,  that  we  may  join  with  him  who  has  gone  be- 
fore, in  eternal  praise  before  the  throne  of  God." 

Dr.  Brownson,  in  his  Review  for  October,  1846,  as 
seen  in  the  following  extract,  has  given  a  very  just 
sketch  of  this  eminent  prelate. 

"  Few  who  had  the  honor  of  personally  knowing 
the  late  eminent  Bishop  of  Boston  but  looked  upon 
him  as  a  great  and  good  man,  and  upon  themselves 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.      179 

as  highly  privileged  in  being  permitted  to  love  and 
revere  him.  Especially  was  this  the  case  with  those 
who  were  in  the  habit  of  daily  intercourse  with  him, 
who  sat  familiarly  at  his  table,  and  shared  his  inti- 
macy. To  them  he  was  a  pleasant  companion,  a  faith- 
ful and  affectionate  friend,  a  wise  and  prudent  coun- 
sellor, a  watchful  and  loving  father.  They  have  no 
words  to  say  how  much  they  loved  and  venerated  him, 
or  to  express  how  deeply  they  feel  their  bereavement. 
They  never  met,  and  they  have  no  hope  of  meeting, 
his  equal  in  another  ;  and  their  grief  would  be  more 
than  they  could  bear,  did  they  not  find  consolation  in 
reflecting  that  it  has  been  theirs  to  know  familiarly 
one  who  gave  them,  by  his  virtues,  a  higher  concep- 
tion of  the  capacities  of  our  common  nature,  and  of 
the  power  and  riches  of  divine  grace ;  that  they  have 
felt  the  influence,  efljoyed  the  friendship,  and  received 
the  paternal  counsels  and  blessing  of  one  whose  labors 
and  example  were  a  precious  gift  from  Heaven  to  the 
community  in  which  he  lived  ;  and  that  he  is  removed 
from  them  only  to  enter  upon  the  rewards  of  his 
fidelity  and  life  of  self-sacrifice,  and  to  be  able  to 
serve  more  effectually  the  children  he  so  tenderly 
loved,  by  his  more  intimate  union  with  the  common 
Father  of  us  all. 

"  Of  Bishop  Fenwick  as  an  intellectual  man  and  a 
scholar,  we  are  not  well  qualified  to  speak.  He  was 
averse,  to  all  display,  and  was  always  so  modest  and 
unassuming  that  you  were  perpetually  in  danger  of 
underrating  him.  Yet  one  was  always  sure  to  fintl 
his  natural  ability  and  his  learning  equal  to  the  occa- 


l8o  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

sion,  whatever  it  might  be.  His  mind  was  evidently 
of  a  practical,  rather  than  of  a  speculative  cast.  He 
had  no  special  fondness  for  metaphysical  studies  and 
scholastic  subtilties,  but  he  was  always  at  home  in 
any  speculative  question  which  came  up,  and  familiar 
with  all  the  nice  and  subtile  distinctions  it  might  in- 
volve. His  memory  was  remarkably  tenacious,  and 
was  rarely  at  fault.  He  seemed  to  have  read  every- 
thing, and  to  have  retained  all  he  read.  He  spoke 
several  languages  with  ease  and  fluenc}',  was  an  emi- 
nent classical  scholar,  and  apparently  familiar  with 
the  whole  range  of  modern  literature  and  science. 
No  matter  what  the  subject,  however  obscure  or  re- 
mote from  his  professional  studies,  on  which  you 
sought  information,  he  could  either  give  it,  or  direct 
you  at  once  to  the  source  whence  you  could  obtain 
it.  That  he  was  a  sound  divine,  well  read  in  dog- 
matic and  moral  theology,  we  suppose  there  can  be 
no  question  ;  but  his  favorite  studies  seemed  to  us  to 
be  history  and  geography,  in  both  of  which,  whether 
general  or  particular,  he  excelled. 

"  Humility  was,  perhaps,  the  most  striking  trait  in 
his  character.  It  gave  to  his  whole  character  that 
placid  beauty,  and  that  inexpressible  charm,  which 
made  his  society  so  delightful,  and  which  so  endeared 
him  to  our  hearts.  He  rarely  spoke  of  himself,  and 
when  he  did,  it  was  always  evident  that  his  mind  was 
not  preoccupied  with  himself.  He  spoke  of  the  trans- 
actions in  which  he  had  taken  part,  nay,  in  which  he 
had  been  the  sole  actor,  as  if  he  had  had  no  connec- 
tion with  them.  He  held  no  prominent  place  in  his 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN   THE    DIOCESE.      iSl 

own  eyes.  He  was  not  merely  indifferent  to  praise, 
but  seemed  to  have  risen  to  that  sublime  degree  of 
humility  which  takes  pleasure  in  being  contemned. 
He  was  happy  in  opportunities  to  humble  himself 
deeper  before  God.  Through  grace  his  spirit  had 
become  as  sweet,  as  gentle,  as  docile  as  that  of  the 
little  child,  of  whom  our  Saviour  said,  "  Of  such  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  He  had  long  ceased  to 
live  for  himself,  and  he  was  incapable  of  thinking 
how  this  or  that  would  or  would  not  affect  his  own 
reputation.  He  chose  always  the  lowest  seat,  and 
was  anxious  only  to  draw  out  and  encourage  others. 
He  made  himself  nothing  for  Christ's  sake,  and  was 
free  and  strong  for  whatever  there  was  for  him  to  do. 
It  was  a  lesson  and  a  blessing  to  contemplate  one  so 
truly  eminent  for  his  abilities  and  acquirements,  able 
to  rank  with  the  greatest  men  and  most  learned  schol- 
ars of  the  age-,  making  himself  of  no  account,  com- 
pletely annihilating  himself  for  the  love  of  God  and 
the  good  of  souls,  and  emulous  only  of  serving  the 
lowest,  and  assisting  those  who  were  most  in  need  of 
being  assisted.  It  abashed  one's  pride,  made  him 
ashamed  of  arrogating  anything  to  himself,  and  feel 
that  nothing  is  truly  estimable,  save  so  far  as  conse- 
crated to  the  greater  glory  of  God. 

"  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  speak  of  this  good  father's 
tender  solicitude  for  the  flock  committed  to  his  charge. 
Every  member  was  dear  to  him,  and  he  took  a  lively 
interest  in  each  one's  concerns,  temporal  as  well  as 
spiritual.  They  were  all  his  children,  and  no  father's 
heart  ever  warmed  with  more  generous  affection,  or 


l82  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

overflowed  with  more  tender  solicitude.  He  lived 
only  to  serve  them,  and  he  brought  all  his  energies  to 
bear  in  devising  ways  and  means  to  benefit  them, 
both  here  and  hereafter.  Their  joy  was  his  joy,  their 
sorrow  was  his  sorrow.  Especially  was  he  the  father 
of  the  poor.  He  gave  everything  he  had,  even  the 
very  considerable  estate  he  had  inherited,  and,  if  all 
were  not  amply  provided  for,  it  was  only  because  his 
purse  was  not  so  large  as  his  heart.  He  carried  his 
kindness  and  paternal  love  even  to  those  who  did  not 
always  make  a  suitable  return,  and  possessed,  pre- 
eminently, the  power  of  rendering  good  for  evil.  No 
ingratitude  ever  discouraged  him,  no  unworthy  recip- 
ients of  his  bounty  ever  induced  him  to  abandon  or 
reproach  them.  If,  as  rarely  happened,  some  rude  or 
violent  member  of  his  flock  forgot  what  was  due  to 
their  father,  he  felt  no  resentment,  but  melted  in  com- 
passion for  the  offender.  All  who  had  any  real  or 
fancied  grievances  were  permitted  to  tell  their  story 
in  their  own  way,  were  listened  to  with  patience,  and 
dismissed  with  gentleness  and  the  paternal  blessing. 
Yet  his  remarkable  patience  and  gentleness,  so  ob- 
vious to  all  who  were  in  the  way  of  observing  his 
intercourse  with  all  sorts  of  people,  were  the  work 
of  grace  ;  for  we  are  inclined  to  think  he  was,  natural- 
ly, somewhat  impatient  and  irascible.  This  trait  in 
his  character  was,  therefore,  all  the  more  beautiful, 
for  it  proved  the  victory  of  grace  over  nature.  The 
victory  was  complete :  if  nature  showed  sometimes 
a  disposition  to  rebel,  she  was  instantly  suppressed, 
and  nothing  was  seen  but  the  meekness,  gentleness, 
and  forbearance  of  divine  grace. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.     183 

"  His  consideration  for  the  feelings  of  others  was 
another  beautiful  trait  in  his  character.  He  could  not 
bear  to  give  the  least  pain  to  another,  and  he  studied 
to  hide  his  excessive  tenderness  under  an  affectation 
of  harshness  and  severity,  which,  however,  only  made 
it  the  more  apparent.  He  delighted  to  have  his  chil- 
dren, especially  his  clergy,  around  him,  and  was  never 
happier  than  when  they  shared  freely  his  boundless 
hospitality.  Nothing  could  be  more  delightful  than 
to  mark  his  kindness  to  them,  and  their  love  and  ven- 
eration for  him.  Nothing  was  constrained,  nothing 
was  cold  or  distant.  It  was  truly  the  reunion  of  the 
father  and  his  children.  No  one  was  overlooked,  no 
one  was  unwelcome  ;  and  we  have  often  admired  the 
unaffected,  and  apparently  unconscious,  consideration 
shown  to  the  feelings  of  each  one  present.  If  one 
had  been  longer  absent  than  usual,  without  any  suf- 
ficient reason,  or  seemed  to  show  that  he  doubted 
whether  he  was  perfectly  welcome  or  not,  the  con- 
versation was  always  sure  to  take  such  a  turn,  and 
without  any  one's  being  able  to  perceive  when  or 
how,  as  to  make  him  certain  that  his  absence  had 
been  regretted,  and  that,  if  anything  had  occurred  to 
wound  his  sensibility,  it  was  unintended,  and  would 
be  atoned  for  at  any  sacrifice.  All  this  was  done  so 
naturally,  so  spontaneously,  so  unconsciously,  so  from 
the  heart,  that  none  but  a  very  nice  and  practised 
observer  could  detect  or  suspect  it.  He  ever  studied 
to  make  others  happy,  and  his  joy  was  always  to  see 
himself  surrounded  by  glad  hearts  and  smiling  faces. 
He  had  his  trials,  and  trials  of  no  ordinary  severity  ; 


184  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

he  had  met  with  many  things,  in  the  administration 
of  his  diocese,  to  grieve  his  paternal  heart ;  but  he 
never  permitted  his  own  afflictions  to  cloud  his  brow, 
or  that  of  another.  With  him  all  was  smooth  and 
sunny,  and  you  imagined  that  he  was  free  from  all 
solicitude,  and  that  no  care  ever  oppressed  him.  This 
trait  in  his  character  was  strikingly  displayed  all 
through  his  long  and  painful  illness. 

"  Of  his  truly  edifying  death  we  cannot  speak  in 
detail.  It  was  what  was  to  have  been  expected  from 
his  life.  He  retained  his  faculties  and  his  recollection 
to  the  last  moment.  He  knew  the  change  that  was 
taking  place,  but  it  did  not  take  him  by  surprise. 
All  his  life  had  been  but  a  preparation  for  it,  yet  he 
made  all  the  acts  and  preparations  the  time  and  the 
occasion  required.  His  last  words  were,  ^In  te, 
Domine,  speravi ;  non  confundar  in  ceternam?  As 
he  repeated  the  words,  half  formed,  the  agony  seized 
him  ;  he  stretched  forth  his  hands  as  if  for  absolution 
and  the  last  indulgence,  which  were  given  ;  some  one 
thought  they  heard  him  respond, '  Amen  ; '  the  agony 
was  over,  the  spirit  was  emancipated,  and  its  joy  was 
reflected  on  that  countenance  which  had  been  so  dear 
to  us  all. 

"  We  have  nothing  more  to  add.  His  monument 
is  in  the  grateful  recollections  of  his  people,  whom 
he  fed  with  the  bread  of  life,  and  governed  with 
equal  affection  and  wisdom  for  over  twenty  years. 
Everywhere  in  his  diocese  we  may  read  the  proofs 
of  his  paternal  solicitude,  his  wisdom  and  energy,  his 
devotion  to  the  people  of  his  charge,  and  of  his  hav- 


PROGRESS    OF   THE    CHURCH    IN   THE    DIOCESE.      185 

ing  lived  and  labored  with  no  thought  hut  for  the 
greater  glory  of  God  and  the  advancement  of  the 
Church.  He  has  stamped  his  character  on  his  dio- 
cese, and  his  influence  will  continue  to  be  felt  till  that 
day  comes  when  the  elements  shall  melt  with  fervent 
heat,  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth  be  dissolved." 


CHURCHES  AND  CLERGY  IN  THE  BOSTON  DIOCESE, 
1846. 

The  zeal,  fervor,  labor,  and  perseverance  of  the 
illustrious  Bishop  Fenwick,  cannot  be  more  clearly 
seen  than  by  the  following  statistics  of  the  churches 
and  clergy,  twenty-one  years  from  the  day  of  his  in- 
stallation, when  there  were  but  three  clergymen  and 
seven  small  churches  or  chapels  throughout  the  New 
England  States. 

Boston,  Cathedral,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick 

and  Coadjutor,  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick, 
Rev.  Messrs.  P.  F.  Lyn- 
don, Ambrose  Manahan, 
D.  D.,  and  John  J.  Wil- 
liams. 

Boston,  St.  Mary's,  Rev.  Messrs.  P.  Flood  and 

James  O'Reilly. 

Boston,  St.  Patrick's,  Rev.  Thomas  Lynch. 

Boston,  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,      Rev.  Terence  Fitzsimmons. 

Boston,  St.  John  Baptist,  Rev.  George  F.  Haskins. 

Boston,  Holy  Trinity,  Rev.  Alexander  Martin,  O. 

S.  F. 


1 86 


SKETCHES,    ETC. 


Boston,  St.  Nicholas,  Rev. 
So.  Boston,  St.  Augustine, 

East  Cambridge,  St.  John's,  Rev. 

Roxbury,  St.  Joseph's,  Rev. 

Charlestown,  St.  Mary's,  Rev. 

Quincy,  St.  Mary's,  Rev. 

Waltham  and  Mission,  Rev. 

Salem,  St.  Mary's,  Rev. 

Lowell.  St.  Patrick's,  Rev. 

Lowell,  St.  Peter's,  Rev. 
Fall  River,  St.  John  Baptist,     Rev. 

Taunton,  St.  Mary's,  Rev. 

New  Bedford,  )  „ 

Y  St.  Peter's,         Rev. 
bandwich,        ) 

Chicopee,          )  Rev. 

Northampton,  >  St.  Matthew's, 
Pittsfield,          ) 

Springfield,  Saxonville,  Rev. 

Worcester,  St.  John  Evangelist,  Rev. 

Dover,  N.  H.,  >  0 

'  }•  St.  Aloysms',   Rev. 
Newburyport,  ) 

Burlington,  Vt,  St.  Peter's,      Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Callaghan. 
Middlebury,  Vt.,     ^ 

Castleton,  Vt.,  Rev.  John  B.  Daley,  O.  S.  F. 

Claremont,  N.  H., ) 
Portland,  Me.,  St.  Dominick's,  Rev. 
Whitefield,  Me.,  St.  Denis,        Rev. 
New  Castle,  " 
Augusta, 
Bangor, 

Old  Town,     "    f 

Benedicta  and  Houlton,  Rev. 

Eastport,  Machias,  ^ 

Calais,  Pleasant       >  Rev.  John  Boyce. 

Point,  ) 


Nicholas  O'Brien. 
Vacant. 

Manasses  Dougherty. 

P.  O'Beirne. 

Messrs.  George  J.  Good- 
win and  M.  McGrath. 

Bernard  Carraher. 

James  Strain. 

James  Conway. 

James  McDermott. 

Peter  Crudden. 

Edward  Murphy. 

Robert  Wilson,  D.  D. 

Thomas  McNulty. 

Messrs.  John  D.  Brady 
and  Bernard  O'Cav- 
anagh. 

Timothy  Reirdon. 

M.  W.  Gibson  and  M. 
McEvoy. 

Patrick  Canavan. 


"'  u    I  St.  Patrick's, 

St.  Michael's,  Rev. 


James  McGuire. 
Patrick  Carraher. 


Thomas  O'Sullivan. 
William  Moran. 


PROGRESS    OF    THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    DIOCESE.       187 

In  the  above  enumeration,  it  will  be  observed,  are 
omitted  the  churches  and  clergy  of  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island,  those  States  that  were  formerly  under 
the  spiritual  jurisdiction  of  Bishop  Fenwick,  and 
which,  in  1844,  were  erected  into  a  new  Diocese, 
and  placed  under  the  government  of  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Tyler. 


BOSTON  DIOCESE,  1872. 

The  following,  from  the  Catholic  Directory  of 
1872,  shows  the  increase  of  Catholicity  in  what  is 
now  the  Boston  Diocese,  Right  Rev.  John  Joseph 
Williams,  D.  D. :  - 

Churches, 96 

Churches  building, 6 

Chapels  and  Stations, 26 

Priests, 157 

Clerical  Students, 75 

College, i 

Female  Academies, 3 

Free  Schools, 12 

Hospitals, 3 

Orphan  Asylums, 6 

Number  of  Orphans, 565 

Catholic  population,  about 300,000. 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD. 

COMPRISING  THE  STATES  OF  CONNECTICUT  AND 
RHODE  ISLAND. 

THIS  Diocese  was  established  in  the  year  1844. 
Right  Rev.  WILLIAM  TYLER,  D.  D.,  its  first  Bishop, 
was  consecrated  March  17,  1844. 

The  following  is  an  estimate,  made  at  that  time, 
of  the  number  of  Catholics  :  — 

Members.         Priests.     Churches. 

In  Connecticut,  .         .         .         4?Si7         3  4 

"  Rhode  Island,         .         .         5,180         3  4 


Total,       .         .         .         9,997         6 

The  first  Mass  offered  in  Connecticut,  as  far  as 
ascertained,  was  by  the  Reverend  Chaplain  of  the 
French  troops  who  came  to  aid  America  in  the  war 
of  independence.  This  was  on  an  extensive  plain,  at 
the  left  of  the  road  to  Wethersfield,  about  one  mile 
south  of  the  court-house,  the  place  being  pointed  out, 
in  1830,  by  one  who  had  been  present  on  the  occasion, 
and  remembered  all  the  circumstances. 

The  first  public  sermon,  in  English,  at  the  invita- 
tion of  Rev.  Dr.  Strong,  a  Congregationalist  clergy- 
man, was  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Matignon,  of  Bos- 

1 88 


DIOCESE    OF   HARTFORD.  189 

ton,  about  the  year  1813,  who,  in  those  days,  when 
"  travelling  on  the  Sabbath"  was  by  law  prohibited, 
arrived  at  Hartford,  on  his  way  to  New  York,  late 
of  a  Saturday  evening ;  stage-coaches  then '  being 
the  only  public  inland  conveyance  between  these  two 
important  cities,  now,  by  the  agency  of  steam, 
brought  within  a  few  hours  of  each  other.  For  this 
courteous  and  friendly  attention  to  a  stranger,  and  he 
a  Catholic  priest,  the  reverend  doctor  was  waited 
upon  at  an  early  hour,  Monday  morning,  and  gravely 
censured  by  the  deacons  for  having  allowed  his  pul- 
pit to  be  so  disgraced  by  a  "popish  priest."  The 
reply  was  characteristic  of  the  man,  who  knew  some- 
what of  human  nature  :  "  Well,  gentlemen,"  said  he, 
"  do  your  best,  and  do  your  worst ;  make  the  most 
of  it :  I  have  the  ladies  on  my  side  !  "  Curiosity  had 
been  gratified,  and  the  outspoken,  liberal  minister 
knew  it. 

The  excavation  for  the  canal  at  Windsor  Locks,  a 
few  miles  north  of  Hartford,  may  be  looked  upon  as 
the  first  gathering,  in  any  considerable  numbers,  of 
the  sons  of  faith  in  the  *'  land  of  steady  habits." 
One  of  the  hard-toiling,  adopted  citizens,  a  native  of 
Ireland,  employed  at  Windsor,  fell  sick,  and  was 
visited  by  Very  Rev.  Fr.  Power,  of  New  York,  in 
the  month  of  August,  1827.  In  October,  of  the 
same  year,  he  made  a  second  visit,  and  offered  the 
holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  in  a  dilapidated  building 
which  stood  near  where  the  railroad  bridge  now 
crosses  the  river. 

Learning,  thus,  of  there  being  sons  of  the  faith  in 


190  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

this  distant  part  of  the  diocese,  Bishop  Fenvvick, 
unable,  at  the  time,  to  give  them  his  personal  atten- 
tion, authorized  Rev.  R.  D.  Woodley,  a  young  cler- 
gyman whom  he  had  lately  admitted  into  the  diocese, 
to  visit  Connecticut,  which  he  did  in  November, 
1828.  The  year  following,  Rev.  B.  O'Cavanagh, 
having  been  ordained,  was  commissioned  to  look 
after  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  faithful. 

The  forming  of  what  may  be  considered  the  first 
permanent  congregation  in  the  State  was  at  Hartford, 
in  the  upper  room  of  house  number  204  Main  Street, 
which  room  was  used  also  as  an  office  for  the  Cath- 
olic Press,  one  of  the  earliest  weekly  publications 
in  defence  of  truth  issued  in  New  England.  The 
family  of  Taylor,  citizens  of  Hartford,  were  the 
prime  movers  in  this  enterprise.  Mr.  Francis  Tay- 
lor, in  his  visit  to  Montreal,  Canada,  prompted  by 
what  he  there  heard  and  saw,  —  religion  exemplified, 
the  church  doors  always  open,  and  the  happy,  cheer- 
fully devout,  passing  in  and  out,  at  all  times,  —  was 
led  to  examine  the  divine  truths  of  Catholicity ;  the 
result  of  which  was,  by  Heaven's  grace,  his  con- 
version. Returning  home,  to  impart  to  those  he 
dearly  loved  the  happiness  which  glowed  in  his  own 
bosom,  he  encouraged  them  to  read  the  books  of  de- 
votion, and  works  of  unanswerable  arguments,  and 
the  plainest  evidences  of  the  true  religion,  which  he 
had  brought  with  him,  and  the  happy  result  was, 
that  his  aged  mother,  sister,  and  three  brothers,  in 
course  of  time,  followed  his  example.  These,  with 
the  few  Irish,  French,  and  German  Catholics  then 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  19! 

living  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  came  together 
on  Sundays  for  prayer,  pious  reading,  and  mutual 
edification. 

Firm  in  faith,  and  relying  on  the  divine  promise  to 
those  who  were  united  in  His  name,  though  small 
their  number,  they  drew  up  a  respectful  petition  to 
their  Right  Rev.  Father  in  Boston,  and  proposed, 
with  his  permission,  the  erection  of  a  small  building 
for  public  worship.  With  that  paternal  love  and 
solicitude  which  carried  him  to  every  portion  of  his 
vast  diocese,  wherever  the  voice  of  the  least  of  his 
flock  was  heard,  the  good  and  ever-devoted  Bishop 
visited  Hartford,  and  offered  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  in  the  room  mentioned  above,  July  12,  1829. 
The  Sunday  following,  the  few  little  ones  were 
brought  together,  and  the  first  Sunday  school  instruc- 
tions given  ;  and  here  parents  and  children  continued 
to  assemble  weekly  till  June  17,  1830,  when,  to  their 
inexpressible  joy  and  delight,  they  secured  for  them- 
selves larger  and  more  commodious  accommodations. 
The  Protestant  Episcopalians,  having  projected  the 
erection  of  a  new  and  more  substantial  edifice  for 
themselves,  sold  to  the  little  congregation  of  Cath- 
olics their  frame  building,  which  was  subsequently 
removed  to  a  lot  on  Talcot  Street.  The  following 
notice  of  the  joyful  event  appeared  in  the  Catholic 
Press  at  the  time. 

"On  Thursday,  the  iyth  inst.,  we  witnessed,  with 
mingled  emotions  of  pleasure  and  delight,  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  Catholic  church  in  this  city.  This 
neat  and  handsome  edifice  formerly  belonged,  under 


192  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

the  name  of  Christ  Church,  to  our  respected  fellow- 
citizens  of  the  Episcopal  order.  Having  lately  un- 
dergone considerable  repairs,  it  was  dedicated  to  the 
immediate  service  of  One  God  in  three  Persons,  un- 
der the  title  of  '  The  Church  of  the  Holy  and  Undi- 
vided Trinity.'  The  Catholics  of  Hartford  and  its 
immediate  vicinity  may  well  rejoice  in  having  a 
place  now  to  offer  up  sacrifice  and  prayer,  and  to 
worship  their  Eternal  Creator  in  spirit  and  truth, 
according  to  the  dictates  of  their  conscience.  Who 
could  have  believed,  two  years  ago,  that  in  a  section 
of  country  where  our  holy  religion  was  scarcely 
known,  there  would  be  this  day  a  'chosen  and  sanc- 
tified place'  to  present  the  pure,  clean,  and  holy  obla- 
tion, which,  according  to  the  prophetic  Malechias, 
was  to  be  offered  up  from  '  the  rising  of  the  sun  to 
the  going  down  thereof?'  After  the  ceremony  of 
dedication,  the  Catholic  pastor  commenced  a  solemn 
High  Mass,  which,  making  due  allowance  for  unac- 
quaintance  with  Catholic  worship,  the  singers  being 
mostly  converts,  was  satisfactorily  taken  up  and 
pleasingly  executed  by  the  newly-organized  choir. 
After  the  Gospel,  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  Fenwick  ascended 
the  pulpit,  and  very  appropriately  selected  for  his 
text  the  sixteenth  verse  of  the  seventh  chapter  of 
Paralipomenon,  —  '  I  have  chosen  and  sanctified  this 
place,  that  my  name  may  be  there  forever,  and  my 
eyes  and  my  heart  may  remain  there  perpetually.' 
The  Rt.  Rev.  Prelate  entered  into  an  historical  detail 
of  the  mode  whereby  man  should  offer  up  acceptable 
sacrifice  of  praise  to  the  eternal  Author  of  truth. 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  193 

He  appealed  to  the  sacred  volume,  and  lucidly 
proved  therefrom  that  this  sacrifice  could  only  be 
pleasing  to  the  great  Creator  when  performed  ac- 
cording to  the  manner  by  Him  prescribed  and  desig- 
nated. He  afterwards  alluded,  in  couched  and 
courteous  language,  to  the  unacquaintance  of  a  large 
portion  of  our  respected  fellow-citizens  with  Cath- 
olic rites  and  ceremonies.  He  lamented  the  misrep- 
resentation of  Catholic  tenets,  and  assured  those 
present  who  were  not  Catholics,  that  an  impartial 
investigation  of  our  holy  doctrines  would  lead  to  a 
very  different  conclusion  from  those  generally  drawn 
by  the  enemies  of  the  Church.  In  conclusion,  he 
pathetically  observed  that  if  what  was  given,  though 
but  a  cup  of  cold  water,  to  relieve  the  corporal 
necessities  of  a  suffering  fellow-creature,  would  not 
lose  its  reward,  how  great  the  reward  of  those  who 
have  it  in  their  power  to  contribute  to  the  spiritual 
necessities  of  thousands  yet  unborn !  To  us,  the 
dedication  of  Trinity  Church  appeared  truly  sublime 
and  strikingly  significant.  May  such  scenes  increase 
and  multiply." 

The  Catholic  Press,  from  which  the  above  extract 
is  taken,  was,  after  the  fourth  volume,  transferred  to 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  appeared  under  the 
name  of  the  Catholic  Herald.  It  was  published 
weekly,  in  the  room  mentioned,  204  Main  Street, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  served  as  chapel,  office,  and 
Sunday  school,  till  transferred  to  the  basement  of  the 
newly-dedicated  church,  which  had  been  fitted  up 
and  made  to  serve  the  purpose  of  pi'inting  office. 


194  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Sunday  and  day  school,  as  well  as  quarters  for  the 
teacher,  printer,  and  a  corner  for  the  Missionary, 
who,  by  the  by,  when  suffering  from  rheumatism  in 
after  years,  raised  his  voice  strenuously  against 
church  basements,  which,  among  other  base  evils,  he 
pronounced  the  smallest  economy  ever  projected, 
especially  for  sleeping  apartments. 

From  this  basement  office,  while  the  Press  was  in 
being,  were  issued  many  useful  works,  such  as  book's 
of  devotion,  pamphlets  on  religious  subjects,  and 
other  publications  called  for  at  the  time.  Among 
those  who  became  converts  to  the  faith,  this  served 
as  sanctum,  where  their  writings  were  edited,  to 
encourage  others  to  partake  of  their  spiritual  conso- 
lation. Among  these  publications,  was  the  "  Con- 
necticut Convert,"  by  Joseph  Brigden,  who,  from  the 
day  of  his  reception  into  the  Church,  during  the  many 
years  he  subsequently  lived,  —  and  his  life,  as  school 
'teacher  and  catechist,  was  ever  active,  —  allowed  no 
day  to  pass  without  spending  at  least  an  hour  in 
presence  of  his  Adorable  Redeemer  in  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  of  the  Eucharist.  And  so  of  many  oth- 
ers; —  gratitude  for  the  inestimable  gift  of  faith  was 
evinced  by  piety  of  life,  and  love  for  the  spiritual 
welfare  of  their  neighbor. 

Through  the  infinite  goodness  and  mercy  of  divine 
Providence,  from  the  establishment  of  the  Church  in 
Connecticut  till  1836,  upwards  of  eighty  adults  — 
and  many  of  them,  with  their  families,  men  and 
women,  from  the  various  societies  of  Protestantism  — 
had  the  happiness  of  being  admitted  to  the  sweet 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  195 

consolations  of  the  One,  True,  Holy,  Catholic  and 
Apostolic  Church. 

PRUDENCE  IN  DELAY.  —  In  receiving  those  who, 
from  the  varied  ranks  of  Protestantism,  sought  ad- 
mission into  the  Church,  our  Missionary  always 
thought  it  best,  where  circumstances  permitted,  to 
subject  them  to  a  long  delay.  He  felt  the  necessity 
of  that  true  Catholic  spirit  that  loves  God  above  all 
things,  and  holds  His  precepts  dearer  than  anything' 
earthly,  and  is  willing  and  determined  to  sacrifice 
everything  rather  than  displease  Him. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  was  well  aware  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  divesting  one's  self  in  a  moment  of  the  ideas 
and  associations  of  early  days.  He  knew  how  hard 
it  is  to  begin  a  new  career,  and,  breaking  with  all 
the  past,  enter  life  anew.  Hence  it  was  only  after 
they  had  been  fully  instructed,  not  only  in  what  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  their  salvation,  but  also  in  the 
practices  of  piety,  and  those  other  devotions  of  the 
Church  which  distinguish  the  thorough  Catholic,  that 
converts  were  admitted  to  the  Sacraments  of  Baptism, 
the  Holy  Eucharist,  and  Confirmation. 

Thus  the  grain  of  mustard-seed  had  found  con- 
genial soil  in  the  very  land  of  Puritanism,  and  spread 
most  wonderfully  in  an  incredibly  short  period  of 
time.  Among  the  citizens  of  Connecticut  converted 
to  the  faith,  are  the  names  of  probably  a  larger  num- 
ber of  those  who  were  formerly  preachers  and  pro- 
moters of  Protestantism,  than  in  any  other  State  of 
tlue  Union.  The  Reverend  Messrs.  Barbers  were  of 
this  State  ;  so  was  Rev.  Calvin  White,  of  Waterbury, 


196  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

and  others,  whose  names  are  omitted,  as  they  are 
still  living,  and  among'  the  most  devoted  of  the  Cath- 
olic priesthood  of  the  nation. 


NEW  HAVEN. 

From  Hartford,  the  Missionary  extended  his  jour- 
neys to  wherever  a  child  of  the  faith  was  to  be 
found.  Consequently  every  county  was  traversed 
repeatedly,  and  stations  established  at  Middletown, 
New  Haven,  Bridgeport,  New  London,  Norwich, 
Stonington,  TarirFville,  Thompsonville,  Waterbury, 
and  Westerly,  in  Connecticut,  and  at  Saxonville, 
Springfield,  Amherst,  Barre,  Blackstone,  Chic- 
opee,  Barrington,  Northampton,  Ware,  Warren. 
Webster,  Westfield,  and  Worcester,  in  Massachusetts, 
where,  at  present,  there  are  large  and  most  respecta- 
ble congregations,  and  at  several  of  these,  two  or 
more  congregations,  with  their  schools,  academies, 
asylums,  and  other  flourishing  institutions.  In  a  let- 
ter written  by  one  of  the  earliest  Catholic  residents 
of  New  Haven,  communicating  to  a  friend  his  joy  at 
the  spread  of  Holy  Church,  the  writer  says,  "  When 
we  heard  that  a  church  had  been  purchased  at  Hart- 
ford, and  was  aboutjo  have  a  priest,  we  were  de- 
lighted. This  appointment  gave  us  an  opportunity 
of  having  mass  at  New  Haven  about  once  in  three 
months,  and  happy  we  then  were  for  so  great  a  priv- 
ilege. Hearing,  for  the  first  time,  that  the  priest  was 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  197 

about  to  visit  us,  we  were  at  a  loss  to  know  where 
we  could  find  a  place  for  offering  the  Holy  Sacrifice. 
After  many  efforts  to  secure  a  respectable  and  suit- 
able place,  we  were  in  the  end  necessitated  to  take 
up  with  an  old  barn,  which  we  swept  and  fitted  up  the 
best  we  could.  By  the  next  visit  of  His  Reverence, 
we  rented  a  room  from  a  German,  he  not  knowing 
for  what  purpose  we  intended  it.  We  next  needed  a 
few  benches  ;  but  the  joiner,  hearing  what  we  wanted 
them  for,  refused  positively  to  make  them,  saying 
that  '  they  —  his  fellow-townsmen  —  were  determined 
to  put  down  that  religion,  at  least  in  Connecticut, 
whether  or  no.'  We  succeeded,  at  length,  in  finding 
one  who  made  us  a  few,  not  suspecting  the  place  for 
which  they  were  intended  ;  but  as  soon  as  he  found 
out.  declared  '  he  would  not  have  made  them  for  fifty 
dollars  apiece  if  he  had  known  it  in  time.' 

"  Whenever  we  expected  the  priest,  we  all  came 
together  to  receive  him.  One  Saturday,  in  partic- 
ular, it  was  the  Eye  of  Christmas,  and  anticipating 
midnight  mass,  we  wei'e  all  at  our  accustomed  place 
of  meeting,  awaiting  his  arrival ;  but  he  did  not 
come.  We  were  certain  he  would  not  disappoint  us, 
whilst,  at  the  same  time,  we  could  not  account  for 
his  delay.  At  length  we  concluded  to  go  and  see  if 
we  might  meet  him.  We  did  so,  and  met  him  on 
the  road,  about  four  miles  outside  of  New  Haven. 
The  sleighing  from  Hartford  had  been  good  part  of 
the  way,  and  then  failed,  till  nothing  remained  but 
bare  ground,  and  his  horse  gave  out — the  distance 
from  Hartford  to  this  city  is  about  thirty-four  miles ; 


190  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

but  the  good  priest,  not  wishing  to  disappoint  us,  de- 
termined to  walk  the  rest  of  the  way.  When  we  met 
him,  he  had  his  valise,  containing  his  vestments.  &c., 
on  his  shoulders.  The  walking  being  rough  and 
frozen,  his  shoes  were  nearly  worn  out,  and  when  he 
arrived  that  night  he  was  scarcely  able  to  preach, 
though  he  did  so  at  the  end  of  mass  ;  after  which  we 
secured  a  conveyance  to  leave  him  where  he  had  left 
his  horse,  for  he  had  to  return  and  say  another  mass 
at  Hartford  the  same  day. 

"  There  is  another  little  incident  that  occurs  to  my 
mind  in  connection  with  the  early  establishment  of 
our  religion  at  this  place.  As  our  numbers  began 
somewhat  to  increase,  I  called  upon  a  certain  gentle- 
man who  owned  an  old  building  that  we  thought 
might  be  fitted  up  for  church  purposes,  but  neither 
for  love  nor  money  would  he  listen  to  our  proposition, 
declaring  that  he  would  not  encourage  Catholicity  in 
any  way.  We  felt  disappointed,  and  my  reply  to 
him  was,  '  Sir,  I  hope  that  you  and  I  may  live  to  see 
Catholic  churches  in  this  city  with  spires  as  high  as 
any  of  yours.'  He  doubted  it ;  but,  thank  God,  it  has 
come  to  pass ;  and  he  has  lived  to  see  our  splendid 
churches  all  well  filled,  and  even  crowded,  every  Sun- 
day." 

While  these  reminiscences  of  one  of  the  pioneer 
Catholics  of  New  Haven  are  so  interesting,  and  he 
finds  such  deep  sense  of  gratitude  for  being  permitted 
to  live  to  praise  God  for  His  infinite  mercies,  in  the 
increase  of  Holy  Church,  there  are  others  still  living, 
equally  grateful,  who  remember  the  tedious  journeys, 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  199 

made  often  in  the  depth  of  winter,  sixty  and  eighty 
miles,  in  pursuit  of  the  priest,  to  attend  their  dying 
father,  mother,  or  friend. 

In  consequence  of  the  many  stations  to  be  visited, 
and  distant  calls  to  be  attended,  Bishop  Fenwick  ad- 
mitted, in  1832,  Rev.  James  McDermott  to  Holy  Or- 
ders, and  sent  him  to  aid  the  missionary.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  McDermott,  after  having  been  partially  initiated 
at  Hartford  into  the  practical  duties  of  mission  life, 
was  commissioned  to  attend  New  Haven,  Bridgeport, 
Derby,  Norwalk,  and  other  stations  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State.  Having  attended  these  for  a  time, 
he  at  length  found  means,  May  14,  1833,  to  purchase 
the  lot  on  Davenport  Avenue,  where  a  frame  building, 
sixty  by  thirty-five  feet,  exclusive  of  sacristy,  was  built. 

The  day  assigned  for  its  dedication  was  the  festival 
of  the  Ascension,  May  S,  1834.  The  Bishop  said 
mass  at  an  early  hour,  gave  communion  to  four  or 
five  persons,  and  was  told  there  were  fifteen  prepared 
for  Confirmation.  At  ten  o'clock,  the  hour  appointed 
for  dedication,  the  church  was  crowded  to  excess ; 
the  Bishop,  accompanied  by  Rev.  Mr.  McDermott 
and  the  Missionary,  having  made  a  circuit  around 
the  church,  as  prescribed  by  the  Ritual,  and  ad- 
vanced in  the  interior  towards  the  Altar,  the  choir- 
gallery  gave  way,  and  fell  with  all  its  incumbents  upon 
the  mass  of  people  below.  The  scene  of  confusion 
that  ensued  can  be  better  fancied  than  described.  One 
lad  fourteen  years  of  age  was  killed  instantly,  and 
several  others  seriously  wounded,  of  whom  one  died 
in  the  course  of  the  day. 


2OO  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

The  cause  of  this  disaster  (and  we  particularly 
allude  to  the  sorrowful  event,  that  others  may  take 
warning  from  it)  was  ascribed  to  the  carpenter,  who 
had  deviated  from  the  original  plan  and  specification, 
which  called  for  two  columns.  He  deeming  these  un- 
necessary, had  attempted  to  support  the  gallery  by 
trussing  it,  —  a  plan  under  certain  circumstances  good 
enough  in  itself,  provided  the  space  is  not  too  wide, 
the  main  timber  large  enough,  and  not  cut  half  away. 

The  debris  of  the  gallery  having  been  removed, 
and  the  blood-stained  floor  scoured,  the  church  was 
blessed  the  Sunday  following.  The  number  of  Catho- 
lics then  residing  in  New  Haven  and  its  immediate 
vicinity,  were  about  two  hundred  souls.  Two  years 
subsequently,  when  the  census  was  taken,  there  were 
at  New  Haven,  of  adults,  three  hundred  ;  at  the  town 
of  Derby,  twenty-five,  at  Bridgeport,  one  hundred,  at 
Norwalk,  twenty-five,  and  at  Waterbury,  thirty. 

Rev.  Fr.  McDermott  having  been  transferred  to 
Lowell,  Mass.,  in  June,  1837,  his  place  was  filled  by 
Rev.  Fr.  Wiley,  till  the  appointment  of  Rev.  James 
Smyth,  September  5,  1837,  w^o,  in  connection  with 
his  charge  over  the  congregation  at  New  Haven,  at- 
tended Bridgeport,  Derby,  and  all  other  stations  of 
his  predecessor,  till  1848,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Philip  O'Reilly,  during  whose  residence  the 
church  at  New  Haven  accidentally  took  fire,  and  was 
consumed. 

To  accommodate  the  faithful,  previous  to  rebuild- 
ing a  new  church,  the  house  originally  occupied  by 
the  Congregational  Society  on  Church  Street  was  pur- 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.      .  2OI 

chased  by  the  Bishop,  and  Rev.  Edward  J.  O'Brien 
appointed  pastor.  The  increased  numbers  and  wants 
of  the  Catholics  demanding  still  other  accommoda- 
tions, the  Church  of  St.  Patrick,  a  substantial  brown- 
stone  edifice  of  sixty  by  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet,  was  erected,  and  in  1852  placed  under  the  im- 
mediate charge  of  Rev.  Matthew  Hart,  during  whose 
pastoral  care,  as  we  learn,  the  congregation  has  in- 
creased to  five  thousand  souls,  with  a  Sunday  school 
of  one  thousand  little  ones,  besides  the  parish  of  St. 
Francis,  so  called,  of  Fair  Haven,  composed  of  fif- 
teen hundred  souls,  which  was  set  off  from  St.  Pat- 
rick's in  1867,  and  for  whom  a  church  has  been  built 
of  sixty  by  one  hundred  feet. 


CHURCH  AT  NORWICH. 

With  the  opening  of  the  Worcester  and  Norwich 
Railroad,  the  missionary  found  the  same  opportunity 
of  affording  the  consolations  of  religion  to  its  toiling 
workmen  and  their  families,  without,  however,  the 
same  arduous  duties  and  frequent  hurried  calls  that 
attended  the  opening  of  the  Western  Road,  where 
the  many  rock  sections,  so  called,  and  the  essential 
use  of  blasting  powder,  rendered  casualties  more  fre- 
quent. The  services  of  religion  on  the  Norwich  road 
were  generally  held  in  shanties  or  in  groves,  and  but 
few  permanent  stations  were  established.  The  town 
of  Webster,  through  which  it  passed,  had  been  pre- 


2O2  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

viously  attended  from  Hartford,  as  had  been  other 
places  equally  so  on  this  route. 

The  city  of  Norwich  and  flourishing  manufacturing 
village  of  Greenville,  where  a  few  Catholics  had  found 
employment,  and  settled  with  their  families,  suggested 
the  propriety  of  selecting  the  site  for  a  church  the 
most  convenient  for  all ;  hence  the  missionary  secured 
a  lot  midway  between  both  places,  and  had  the  foun- 
dation laid  early  in  the  year  1844,  and  the  building  so 
far  completed  as  to  offer  on  its  altar  the  holy  Sacri- 
fice of  the  mass  on  the  joyful  festival  of  Christmas 
the  same  year.  The  number  composing  the  congre- 
gation at  the  time  were  about  two  hundred  and  fifty; 
they  have  since  increased,  and  are  estimated  at  the 
present  day  to  be,  within  the  circuit  of  four  miles,  be- 
tween five  and  six  thousand,  for  whose  additional 
accommodation,  the  present  zealous  and  devoted  pas- 
tor, Rev.  Fr.  Mullen,  has  secured  a  most  desirable 
lot  on  one  of  the  finest  streets  on  the  Plains,  so  called, 
upon  which  he  contemplates  the  erection  of  a  spacious 
and  beautiful  church  edifice,  worthy  the  place  and  the 
cause. 


CHURCH  AT  STONINGTON. 

From  Norwich  the  missionary  tour  generally  ex- 
tended to  Stonington,  where  the  holy  Sacrifice,  as 
usual,  was  offered  in  the  largest  room  of  some  private 
dwelling.  The  principal  members  of  the  Church  then 
residing  at  Stonington  were  the  families  of  McCarthy, 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  203 

Sullivan,  Gilmore,  Carr,  and  Kirby,  the  last  named 
gentleman,  brother  of  Rev.  Dr.  Kirby,  President  of 
the  Irish  College  in  Rome,  sustained  his  family  by 
teaching  a  select  number  of  young  Protestant  gentle- 
men the  classics  and  higher  branches  of  mathematics. 
Mass  was  often  said  in  the  private  parlor  of  his  house 
for  his  convert  wife  and  family  of  little  ones. 

The  present  church  at  Stonington,  St.  Mary's,  a 
building  of  sixty  by  forty  feet,  was  erected  in  1845, 
through  the  exertions  of  Rev.  Fr.  Duffy. 


CHURCH  AT  WESTERLY. 

This  town  was  visited  occasionally  while  the  Provi- 
dence and  Stonington  Railroad  was  under  construc- 
tion ;  subsequent  to  which,  however,  not  a  solitary 
Catholic  family  was  known  to  have  remained  in  the 
place,  though  at  present  they  have  a  church  and  resi- 
dent pastor,  Rev.  P.  Sherry,  and  his  assistant,  Rev.  J. 
Reynolds,  who  attend  also  Stonington  and  Mystic. 

Westerly  is  well  i-emembered  from  the  fact  of  the 
first  mass  there  offered  having  been  under  an  aged 
oak,  as  well  as  from  the  first  ride  ever  enjoyed  on  a 
hand-car,  —  a  truck  used  by  the  workmen  on  the  rail- 
road, —  being  of  a  Sunday  evening. 

A  family  residing  a  few  miles  distant,  strangers  in 
the  woods,  had,  not  knowing  the  deleterious  effects 
of  certain  roots  and  brush-wood,  been  preparing 
dinner  in  a  good  old-fashioned  sized  chimney-place, 


204  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

using  as  fuel  wood  found  in  the  neighborhood,  when, 
to  their  surprise,  they  were  blinded,  neither  mother 
nor  little  ones  able  to  see  one  another !  "  The  sick 
call"  was  rather  amusing  than  alarming.  They  had 
inhaled  the  fumes  of  dogwood  ! 


CHURCH  AT  NEW  LONDON. 

Leaving  Stonington,  New  London  was  the  next 
station.  The  faithful  here,  though  few,  had  received 
occasional  visits  from  the  Missionary,  both  while  at 
Hartford,  as  early  as  1831,  and  after  his  removal  to 
Worcester.  To  be  hooted,  and  occasionally  stoned, 
by  urchins  who  had  imbibed  the  prejudice  of  their 
parents,  was  not  an  uncommon  occurrence  in  former 
days.  But  deep-rooted  as  was  the  prejudice  of  the 
majority  of  the  people,  there  were  not  a  few  found 
better  informed  at  New  London,  who  were  inclined 
to  liberality  and  tolerance,  and  who  allowed  the  use 
of  the  Court  House  for  occasional  preaching. 

The  members  of  the  Church,  after  a  while,  becom- 
ing too  numerous  to  find  accommodations  as  usual  in 
any  private  house,  it  was  decided  to  erect  a  small 
church  ;  for  which  purpose,  a  vacant  lot,  located  be- 
tween two  very  respectable  frame  buildings,  on  Jay 
Street,  was  purchased  in  January,  1843.  Although 
it  was  anticipated  at  the  time  that  this  edifice  would 
prove  too  limited  for  increasing  numbers,  yet  it  was 
considered  that  the  fact  of  the  proprietors  of  the 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  205 

houses  right  and  left  being  good  Protestant  fellow- 
citizens,  would  be  the  best  insurance  against  casual- 
ties that  otherwise  might  happen.  The  foundation 
of  this  little  church  was  soon  laid,  and  the  building 
so  far  completed  as  to  be  ready  for  divine  service  in 
the  month  of  April. 

Ten  years  subsequently  this  cradle  church  becom- 
ing entirely  too  small  for  the  increasing  numbers  of 
the  faithful,  another  and  more  commodious  building 
was  erected  on  Truman  Street ;  and  even  this,  in 
time,  being  found  inadequate,  another  lot  was  pur- 
chased in  1869,  on  Huntington  Street,  where  is 
erected  a  magnificent  Gothic  church,  surpassing, 
both  in  size  and  beauty,  any  other  edifice  in  the  city. 
Thus  the  few  Catholics,  who  in  1831  were  so  happy 
at  being  present  at  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass,  as 
the  Missionary  could  be  occasionally  with  them,  and 
found  ample  accommodations  in  the  room  of  a  private 
dwelling,  have  augmented  to  three  thousand,  while 
the  children  of  sufficient  age  to  attend  catechism  num- 
ber five  hundred. 


CHURCH  AT  MIDDLETOWN. 

This  town  and  Chatham,  now  Portland,  on  the 
east  side  of  the  Connecticut  River,  were,  as  early  as 
1830,  stations,  attended  by  the  Missionary  from  Hart- 
ford, when  mass  was  said,  and  the  Sacraments  ad- 
ministered in  private  houses.  The  extensive  work  at 
the  brown  stone  quarries  of  Portland  gave  employment 


2O6  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

to  several  laborers,  the  majority  of  whom,  with  their 
families,  were  members  of  the  Church,  who,  after  their 
week's  toil,  had  occasionally  the  privilege  of  mass  on 
Sundays,  or  before  their  day's  work  on  other  occasions. 
Residing  on  both  the  east  and  west  side  of  the 
river,  when  their  numbers  had  increased  to  two 
hundred  souls,  an  acre  of  land,  to  serve  the  purpose 
of  a  church  and  cemetery,  was  secured  at  Middle- 
town,  November  18,  1841,  and  on  this  a  brick  edifice, 
measuring  sixty-five  by  forty  feet,  was  erected  in 
1843. 


CHURCH  AT  BRIDGEPORT. 

The  earliest  date  we  have  of  mass  being  o  ered  in  the 
room  of  a  private  house  in  this  town  was  1830,  when 
the  Missionary  had,  as  far  as  remembered,  a  congre- 
gation of  married  and  single,  together  with  children, 
about  seventeen  souls.  Tradition,  however,  says,  that 
previous  to  this  date  a  dying  Christian  had  been  at- 
tended, and  received  the  aids  of  religion  by  some  one 
of  the  good  Catholic  clergy  from  New  York  State ; 
which  is  not  improbable,  since  we  have  learned  that  as 
early  as  1827,  Very  Rev.  Fr.  Power  was  on  a  similar 
mission  of  love  to  Windsor,  near  to  the  heart  of  the 
State. 

As  already  mentioned,  this  portion  of  the  State  for- 
merly attended  by  our  Missionary,  whose  parish,  as 
he  was  wont  to  call  it,  extended  from  Boston  to  New 
York,  was,  in  1832,  placed  in  charge  of  Rev.  Fr. 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  2Oj 

McDermott,  which  he  visited  from  time  to  time,  till, 
being  transferred  to  Lowell  in  1837,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Rev.  James  Smyth,  who,  in  1841,  when 
the  congregation  numbered  two  hundred  and  fifty, 
selected  an  eligible  site  for  a  church,  which  was  sub- 
sequently built  of  brick,  measuring  sixty  by  forty 
feet,  with  a  choir  gallery  and  convenient  sacristy, 
which  he  had  dedicated  under  the  title  of  St.  James 
the  Apostle,  July  24,  1843.  Rev.  Michael  Lynch  was 
appointed  in  charge  of  this  congregation,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  missions  of  Derby  and  Norwalk,  Nov- 
ember following. 

Of  the  growth  and  spread  of  Catholicity,  and  the 
splendid  churches  since  erected  in  the  thriving  and 
pleasant  towns  of  Bridgeport,  Derby,  Birmingham, 
Waterbury,  Norwalk,  Danbury,  Norfolk,  Wenstead, 
and  Stamford,  in  Connecticut,  where  there  are  now 
churches  and  devoted  pastors,  we  will  not  speak,  as 
we  leave  these  to  the  future  historian  of  the  diocese, 
it  being  our  aim  to  confine  ourselves  merely  to  early 
events  ;  events  which,  though  at  this  day  may  appeal- 
small,  were  viewed  as  grand  efforts  by  the  pioneers 
of  Catholicity  of  other  days. 


CHURCH  AT  NEWPORT,  RHODE  ISLAND. 

The  first  Catholic  church  erected  in  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island  was  at  Newport.  "  The  discovery  of 
America,"  writes  J.  G.  Shea,  LL.  D.,  in  his  interest- 


2O8  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

ing  history  of  the  Catholic  Missions  among  the  In- 
dians of  the  United  States,  "  like  every  other  event 
in  the  history  of  the  world,  had,  in  the  designs  of 
God,  the  great  object  of  the  salvation  of  mankind. 
In  that  event,  more  clearly,  perhaps,  than  is  often 
given  to  us  here  below,  we  can  see  and  adore  that 
Providence  which  thus  gave  to  millions  long  sundered 
from  the  rest  of  men  by  pathless  ocean,  the  light  of 
the  gospel  and  the  proffered  boon  of  redemption." 

The  legend  of  St.  Brendan's  western  voyage,  which 
was  widely  diffused  in  the  middle  ages,  versions  of 
which  abound  in  Irish,  Dutch,  German,  Italian,  Span- 
ish, Portuguese,  and  in  all  parts  of  the  Continent,  is 
most  interesting,  to  say  the  least ;  and  with  the  inde- 
fatigable labor  and  researches  of  such  scholars  as 
Professor  Rafu,  of  Copenhagen,  more  convincing  evi- 
dences of  anti-Columbian  voyages  to  America  may 
be  discovered  than  are  as  yet  generally  acknowledged. 

41  Kerry  was  the  native  home  of  St.  Brendan,  who 
lived  in  the  fifth  century ;  and  as  he  stood,"  writes 
M.  F.  Cusack,  the  authoress  of  Ireland's  History 
Illustrated,  "  on  its  bold  and  beautiful  shores,  his 
naturally  contemplative  mind  was  led  to  inquire 
what  boundaries  chained  that  vast  ocean,  whose 
grand  waters  rolled  in  mighty  waves  beneath  his 
feet.  His  thoughtful  piety  suggested  that  where  there 
might  be  a  country  there  might  be  life,  —  human 
life  and  human  souls  dying  day  by  day,  and  hour  by 
hour,  and  knowing  of  no  other  existence  than  that 
which  at  best  is  full  of  sadness  and  decay. 

"  Traditions  of  a  far  away  land  had  long  existed 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  2CK) 

on  the  western  coast  of  ancient  Erinn.  The  brave 
Tuatha  de  Dananns  were  singularly  expert  in  naval 
affairs,  and  their  descendants  were  by  no  means  un- 
willing to  impart  information  to  the  saint. 

"  He  at  length  decided  to  set  out  on  the  important 
expedition.  St.  Brendan's  Hill  still  bears  his  name ; 
and  from  the  bay,  at  the  foot  of  this  lofty  eminence, 
he  sailed  for  the  '  far  west.'  Directing  his  course 
towards  the  south-west  with  a  few  faithful  companions 
in  a  well-provisioned  bark,  he  came,  after  some  rough 
and  dangerous  navigation,  to  calm  seas,  where,  with- 
out aid  of  oar  or  sail,  he  was  borne  along  for  many 
weeks.  It  is  probable  that  he  had  entered  the  great 
Gulf  Stream,  which  brought  his  vessel  ashore  some- 
where on  the  Virginian  coasts.  He  landed  with  his 
companions,  and  penetrated  into  the  interior,  until  he 
came  to  a  large  river  flowing  from  east  to  west,  sup- 
posed to  be  that  now  known  as  the  Ohio.  Here, 
according  to  the  legend,  he  was  accosted  by  a  man 
of  venerable  bearing,  who  told  him  that  he  had  gone 
far  enough  ;  that  further  discoveries  were  reserved  for 
other  men,  who  would,  in  due  time,  come  and  Chris- 
tianize that  pleasant  land. 

"  After  an  absence  of  seven  years,  the  saint  re- 
turned once  more  to  Ireland,  and  lived,  not  only  to 
tell  of  the  marvels  he  had  seen,  but  even  to  found  a 
college  of  three  thousand  monks  at  Clonfert." 

Whatever  credence  may  be  attached  to  the  fore- 
going, it  is  certain  that  the  Irish  and  Norwegians, 
in  the  ninth  century,  were  a  naval  and  commercial 
people,  and  their  fleets  scoured  the  Atlantic  and  North 
Seas.  14 


210  'SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Of  the  voyages  of  that  period,  the  historians  of 
Iceland  preserve  us  details,  which  the  almost  entire 
destruction  of  Irish  manuscripts  has  buried  in  obliv- 
ion. "  According  to  these,"  writes  the  author  of  the 
Discovery  and  Exploration  of  the  Mississippi,  J.  G. 
Shea,  .already  quoted,  "  the  Lash  first  discovered 
Iceland,  and  established  Christianity  there,  then 
planted  a  colony  on  the  southern  coast  of  North 
America,  at  a  part  called,  in  Iceland  annals,  Hvit- 
ramannaland,  that  is,  Whiteman's  land,  or  Irland  it 
mikla,  Greater  Ireland.  This  colony  subsisted  as 
late  as  the  year  1000,  and  we  know  that  the  colonists 
were  not  insensible  to  the  great  work  of  evangelizing 
the  heathen,  from  the  fact  that  a  pagan  Icelander, 
Are  Marson,  who  was  driven  there  in  983,  was  bap- 
tized in  the  colony. 

"  Soon  after  the  settlement  of  Greenland  by  Eric 
the  Red,  his  son  Leif  Visited  Norway,  and  was  in- 
duced by  St.  Olaus,  then  king  of  that  country,  to 
embrace  the  true  faith.  Returning  to  Greenland  in 
1000,  Leif  bore  with  him  priests  to  convert  the  col- 
onists, and  in  a  short  time  most  of  the  Northmen  in 
America  embraced  Christianity.  Churches  and  con- 
vents arose  in  different  parts,  rivalling  those  of  Ice- 
land in  piety  and  learning. 

"  Before  this  Biarni,  son  of  Heriulf,  sailing  from 
Iceland  to  Greenland,  was  driven  on  the  American 
coast,  and  in  the  very  year  of  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  Greenland  he  sailed  again  to  explore 
the  countries  which  he  had  seen,  and  naming  Labra- 
dor, Helluland,  Nova  Scotia,  Markland,  proceeded  to 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTI^DRD.  211 

Narragansett  Bay,  where,  from  one  of  his  company 
finding  wild  grapes,  he  called  the  country  Vinland. 

"  Thorwald,  Thorstein,  and  subsequently  Thorfinn, 
of  Irish  origin,  visited  this  place,  and  a  settlement 
was  gradually  formed.  As  yet  all  were  not  Chris- 
tians ;  some  still  adored  Thor  and  Woden,  and  mis- 
sionaries left  Greenland  to  establish  religion  in  Vin- 
land. Of  these  missionaries,  the  most  celebrated  was 
Eric,  who  arrived  in  Greenland,  and  after  laboring  a 
few  years  proceeded  to  Vinland.  Spending  some  years 
here,  he  returned  to  Iceland  in  1120,  and  sailed  to 
Europe  to  induce  the  establishment  of  a  bishopric, 
and  a  proper  organization  of  the  Church.  Deeming 
Eric  the  most  suitable  person,  the  Scandinavian  bish- 
ops selected  him  to  found  the  first  American  See,  and 
the  missionary  was  consecrated  at  Lund,  in  Denmark, 
by  Archbishop  Adzer,  in  1121. 

"  After  his  consecration,  Eric  returned  to  America, 
but  still  attached  to  his  mission,  led  a  body  of  clergy 
and  colonists  to  Vinland :  here  he  found  so  ample  a 
field  for  his  labor,  that  he  resigned  his  bishopric  and 
never  returned  to  Greenland. 

"  Of  the  future  career  of  this  zealous  and  self-deny- 
ing missionary  we  know  no  more,  the  researches  of 
northern  antiquarians  not  having  as  yet  drawn  from 
the  dust  of  centuries  any  further  details. 

"  He  was  not,  however,  the  only  missionary ;  for 
we  find  that  about  this  time  John,  an  Irish  or  Saxon 
monk,  sailed  from  Iceland  to  that  country,  but  was 
there  slain  by  the  heathens  whom  he  had  endeavored 
to  convert. 


212  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

"  As  to  the  position  of  Vinland,  there  can  be  little 
doubt ;  a  careful  study  of  the  narratives  of  the  early 
voyagers,  narratives  stamped  with  the  imprint  of 
truth,  leaves  no  doubt  that  they  turned  Cape  Cod, 
and  entered  the  waters  of  Narragansett  Bay.  To 
corroborate  this,  a  ruin  exists  at  Newport,  evidently 
of  Runic  or  Scandinavian  origin.  It  was  found  at 
the  settlement  of  the  country,  and  is  clearly  no  Indian 
work,  while  its  resemblance  to  acknowledged  Scan- 
dinavian works  in  Greenland  and  Iceland,  places  the 
question  beyond  a  doubt."  So  far  the  researches  of 
the  historian,  J.  G.  Shea,  Esq. 

"  The  ancient  tholus  in  Newport,  the  erection  of 
which,"  say  the  Royal  Society  of  Antiquarians, 
"  appears  to  be  coeval  with  the  time  of  Bishop 
Eric,  belonged  to  a  Scandinavian  church  or  monas- 
tery, where,  in  alternation  with  Latin  masses,  the  old 
Danish  tongue  was  heard  seven  hundred  years  ago." 

A  cloud  hangs  over  the  fate  of  the  colonists  of 
Vinland  and  Greenland,  who  sank  at  last  under  war 
or  pestilence. 

Apart  from  what  has  been  said  of  the  discoveries 
of  the  Irish  and  Norwegians  in  Iceland,  Greenland, 
Vinland,  and  other  parts  of  America,  the  next  ac- 
quaintance we  have,  coming  down  to  a  more  recent 
date,  of  the  presence  of  the  Catholic  clergy,  and  of 
the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass  being  offered  at  New- 
port, was  during  the  war  for  American  independence, 
when  France,  with  her  thousand  troops,  her  ships 
and  frigates,  military  stores,  wealth,  and  other  sub- 
stantial sinews  of  war,  came  to  our  aid  when  battling 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  213 

for  Freedom's  cause.  At  that  time  the  State  House, 
a  building  still  maintaining  its  excellent  proportions 
and  worthy  of  note,  was  used  as  a  hospital,  and  as 
a  chapel,  where  the  consolations  of  religion  were 
administered  to  the  sick,  the  wounded,  and  dying  sol- 
dier. In  the  south  room  is  pointed  out  the  spot 
where  the  altar  was  erected,  and  holy  Sacrifice  of- 
fered by  the  chaplains  who  accompanied  Count  D'Es- 
taing  and  his  gallant  band  to  the  American  shore  in 
1778.  One  who  still  lived  in  1840,  and  delighted  to 
recount  former  events,  remembered  well  the  inter- 
ment of  the  lamented  Chevalier  De  Ternay,  was  in 
the  room  where  he  departed,  followed  his  remains  to 
the  grave,  and  looked  upon  the  priests  who  performed 
the  funeral  service. 

From  the  pages  of  the  first  Baptismal  Register  of 
the  Cathedral  of  Holy  Cross  in  Boston,  there  are  the 
names  of  two  admitted  to  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism 
at  Newport  by  Rev.  John  Thayer,  one  in  i79r»  a°d 
the  second  in  1798,  and  one  by  Bishop  Carroll,  who, 
upon  his  return  to  Baltimore,  after  having  been  at  the 
dedication  of  the  church  at  Boston,  in  September, 
1803,  put  into  Newport,  in  consequence,  probably, 
of  a  heavy  storm,  and  baptized  a  little  one  born  about 
that  time  ;  from  which  we  are  at  liberty  to  conjecture 
that  there  were  a  few  Catholics  residing  at  Newport 
after  the  departure  of  the  French  fleet. 

From  the  same  Register  we  learn  that  occasional 
visits  were  made  by  Rev.  Drs.  Matignon  and  Chev- 
erus  to  the  town  of  Bristol  as  early  as  181 1  and  1812, 
where  the  children  of  certain  French-Americans  were 


214  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

baptized,  at  which  time,  no  doubt,  the  few  Catholic 
residents  had  mass,  and  received  the  other  consola- 
tions of  their  religion. 

Coming  down  to  a  later  date,  what  remains  fresh  in 
our  memory  is,  that  Rev.  Patrick  Byrne,  of  Boston, 
in  the  month  of  February,  1827,  visited  the  Catholics 
employed  at  Fort  Adams,  and  those  laboring  in  the 
coal  mines  on  the  north  part  of  the  island,  and  re- 
ported, upon  his  return,  that  he  had  administered 
holy  communion  to  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
Encouraged  by  this  report,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fen- 
wick  authorized  Rev.  Robert  D.  Woodley,  whom  he 
had  appointed  to  the  charge  of  Providence,  Paw- 
tucket,  and  Taunton,  to  attend  Newport,  which  he 
did,  and  in  the  month  of  April,  1828,  purchased  a 
small  building,  which  had  been  used  previously  for 
school  purposes,  on  Barney  Street.  This  he  fitted  up, 
had  an  altar  erected  in  it,  and  small  as  it  was,  it  had 
the  honor  of  being  the  first  Catholic  Church  blessed 
in  Rhode  Island. 

In  the  month  of  October,  the  same  year,  the  Bishop 
visited  Newport  in  person,  said  mass,  preached,  and 
administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  to  eleven 
persons  in  the  same  little  church,  and  encouraged  the 
purchase  of  additional  land  for  the  convenience  of 
the  congregation  at  a  future  day. 

The  successor  to  Father  Woodley,  1830,  was  Rev. 
John  Corry,  who  in  time  finding  that  the  faithful 
had  so  far  increased  as  to  warrant  the  undertaking, 
erected  on  Mount  Vernon  Street  a  frame  building 
sufficient  to  accommodate  between  seven  and  eight 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  215 

hundred,  which  was  blessed,  and  known  as  St. 
Joseph's,  August  20,  1837,  at  which  visit  the  Bishop 
confirmed  others  prepared  for  the  Sacrament.  The 
successors  to  Father  Corry  were,  in  1837  an(^  I^3^^ 
Rev.  C.  Lee,  and  in  1839  to  1842,  Rev.  Jas.  O'Reilly, 
who  was  transferred  to  New  Bedford,  as,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  employment  for  either  mechanics  or  laboi"- 
ers,  the  congregation  had  become  very  small ;  and 
ten  dollars  per  month,  all  that  the  clergyman  acknowl- 
edged to  have  received,  was  hardly  sufficient  for  his 
support  and  contingent  expenses. 

At  the  arrival  of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Tyler  at  Provi- 
dence, in  1844,  our  missionary  was  permitted  to  look 
after  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  faithful  at  Woonsocket, 
Pawtucket,  and  Newport,  till  other  laborers  being 
admitted  into  the  diocese,  Newport  was  selected  as 
his  residence. 


THE  BROWN-STONE  GOTHIC  CHURCH  AT  NEWPORT. 

The  frame  building  erected  on  Mount  Vernon 
Street  was  considered  far  from  being  safe.  The 
builder,  whoever  he  may  have  been,  was  evidently 
a  stranger  to  chui'ch  architecture,  particularly  on  the 
seaboai'd,  for  though  the  materials  used  in  its  con- 
struction were  of  the  best,  the  saw  and  chisel  had 
left  the  building  in  a  very  shaky  condition. 

Mrs.  Goodly  Harper,  and  her  devoted  daughter, 
Miss  Emily,  of  Baltimore,  the  worthy  relatives  of  the 
first  Bishop  of  America,  and  of  Charles  Carroll,  of 


2l6  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Carrollton,  who  resided  at  Newport  during  the  sum- 
mer months,  encouraged  the  erection  of  a  more  sub- 
stantial edifice,  and  one  that  would  be  a  credit  to  the 
religion  they  dearly  loved.  With  their  substantial 
aid,  and  the  lot  on  Spring  Street,  which  their  dona- 
tion of  four  thousand  dollars  secured,  and  subsequent 
annual  assistance,  together  with  the  generous  aid  of 
the  congregation,  according  to  their  means,  the  pres- 
ent truly  grand  church  of  "  Our  Lady  of  the  Isle  " 
was  erected. 

The  subjoined,  which  was  engraved  on  the  plate 
and  written  on  the  parchment,  deposited  in  the  corner- 
stone, tells  its  history. 

Engraven  on  the  plate  was  :  — 

"  To  THE  GREATER  HONOR  AND  GLORY  OF  AL- 
MIGHTY GOD,  and  under  the  patronage  of  the  Ever 
Blessed  Virgin,  conceived  without  sin,  this  corner- 
stone of  the  church,  of  the  HOLY  NAME  OF  MARY, 
was  laid  June  xiv.,  A.  D.  MDCCCXLIX." 

On  the  parchment  was  written  :  — 

"  To  THE  HONOR  AND  GLORY  OF  GOD  :  This 
church  was  commenced  August  7,  1848,  in  the  two 
hundred  and  ninth  year  of  the  settlement  of  New- 
port, when  the  members  of  the  Catholic  Church  num- 
bered five  hundred  and  eighty-six  souls,  out  of  the 
whole  population  of  about  nine  thousand. 

"  The  trenches  having  been  dug  by  voluntary  and 
cheerful  hands,  the  first  stone  was  laid  August  i5th, 


DIOCESE   OF   HARTFORD.  21 7 

and  the  foundation  walls  were  commenced  the  day 
following. 

"  This  corner-stone  was  laid,  June  14,  1849,  under 
the  pontificate  of  His  Holiness  Pius  IX.,  an  exile  at 
Gaeta,  with  the  approbation  of  Right  Rev.  William 
Tyler,  Bishop  of  the  Diocese  of  Hartford,  which  em- 
braces the  States  of  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island, 
in  the  seventy-fourth  year  of  American  Independence, 
during  the  administration  of  Zachary  Taylor,  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  Henry  B.  Anthony  being 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Rhode  Island,  and  Rev. 
James  Fitton,  Pastor  of  the  Catholic  congregation  at 
Newport.  At  an  eventful  period,  when  the  Continent 
of  Europe  is  being  revolutionized  by  wars  and  the 
overthrow  of  thrones,  when  many,  notwithstanding 
earth  is  but  a  pilgrimage  in  which  men,  in  conse- 
quence of  original  sin,  have  been  condemned  to  eat 
their  bread  in  the  sweat  of  their  brow,  are,  after  six 
thousand  years  that  it  has  produced  its  thorns  and 
thistles,  attempting,  they  say,  to  ameliorate  the  con- 
dition of  society,  and  under  the  name  of  Socialism, 
Fraternity,  &c.,  about  to  render  earthly  home  an 
Eden  !  Time  will  tell  the  result,  and  some  future 
generation,  who  will  read  this,  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
profit  by  the  admonition." 

As  it  was  among  the  first  of  the  churches  planned 
by  that  prince  of  church  aixhitects,  soon  after  his 
arrival  in  America,  P.  C.  Keely,  Esq.,  we  will  give  a 
brief  description  of  it,  allowing  due  honor  to  the 
mechanics  who  did  their  part  so  faithfully.  The  ex- 


2l8  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

terior  walls  and  interior  carved  columns,  each  a  shaft 
of  solid  stone,  and  the  tower,  were  built  by  Messrs. 
Meginn  and  Ponsonby ;  the  stuccoing  and  beautiful 
interior  ornamental  finish  was  completed  by  P.  Foley, 
and  the  slating  by  Messrs.  Dugans,  all  true  sons  of 
the  Church.  The  carpentering  was  by  J.  B.  Weeden, 
the  carving  by  Messrs.  Smith  and  Crane,  the  stained 
glass  by  G.  Morgan,  and  the  polycrome  painting  by 
T.  Coggeshall. 

The  edifice  is  of  the  second  period  of  Gothic  archi- 
tecture. It  has  a  clerestory,  and  comprises  a  well- 
defined  chancel,  a  nave  and  aisles,  a  tower,  porch, 
and  sacristy.  It  is  from  out  to  out  of  walls,  north 
and  south,  sixty  feet ;  from  east  to  west,  one  hundred 
feet;  with  a  chancel  of  twenty-four  by  thirty  feet. 
The  aisle  walls  are  twenty-four  feet,  the  clerestory 
walls  forty-eight  feet,  and  from  the  floor  to  the  ridge- 
moulding  seventy  feet.  The  chancel  walls  are  thirty- 
three  feet,  and  to  the  peak  of  roof  is  forty-eight  feet. 
To  the  cornice  of  tower,  where  the  spire  springs,  is 
about  sixty-five  feet. 

It  is  built  of  sized  brown-stone,  with  window  and 
door  jambs,  table  mouldings,  sills,  corbel  tables,  gable 
offsets,  &c.,  neatly  cut. 

The  front,  which  is  to  the  west,  is  supported  by 
massive  buttresses,  placed  diagonally  at  the  corners 
of  the  edifice,  with  deep  bases,  drip-stones,  and  off- 
sets. The  tower,  which  is  at  the  north-west  corner, 
is  supported  by  still  more  massive  buttresses,  with 
bases  of  bold  projection,  and  is  lighted  by  six  richly 
wrought  windows  in  the  first  and  second  stones,  while 


DIOCESE    OF   HARTFORD.  2Ip 

the  upper,  which  is  really  ornate  in  its  character,  is 
pierced  on  every  side  by  belfry  windows,  whose  open- 
ings are  filled  with  louver-boarding.  High  over  the 
doorway  is  seen  conspicuously  the  monogram  of  the 
Blessed  Mother,  and  under  whose  fostering  care  the 
first  stone  of  the  building  was  laid.  At  the  angles  of 
the  tower,  upon  which  rests  the  spire,  stand  the  four 
Evangelists,  beautifully  carved,  who,  as  when  first 
commissioned,  appear  to  be  announcing  the  glad 
tidings  of  salvation  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world. 
The  spire,  "  pointing  in  silence  heavenward,"  sur- 
mounted with  its  finial  and  cross,  the  emblem  of 
man's  salvation,  present  a  graceful  and  characteristic 
feature  in  the  outline  of  the  edifice. 

The  nave  and  aisle  walls  are  supported  by  buttresses 
divided  into  two  or  more  stages,  with  offsets,  and  fin- 
ished with  corbel  table.  The  east  and  west  view  are 
in  fine  perspective,  in  consequence  of  the  buttress 
quoin  being  carried  up  the  gable  and  corbelled  to 
support  the  coping  which  at  the  gable  ends  is  stopped 
by  large  bold  gable  offsets,  which  impart  variety  to 
the  outline  of  the  building. 

The  door  of  the  west  entrance,  the  tower  and  south 
porch  doors,  are  set  in  deeply  splayed  jambs  and  grace- 
ful mouldings.  The  large  west  window,  divided  bv 
mullions  into  three,  the  clerestory  and  aisles  into  two, 
and  the  grand  chancel  window  into  five  compart- 
ments, are  all  filled,  as  are  the  circular  and  quaterfoils 
in  the  gables  and  east  end  of  aisles,  with  stained  glass 
of  varied  designs,  and  present  the  most  beautiful  con- 
trast in  massive  flame-like  tracery. 


22O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

The  south  porch,  with  its  high-pitched  roof,  is  an 
ornamental  as  well  as  useful  appendage  to  the  church, 
as  it  is  here,  agreeably  with  the  rubrics,  that  the  re- 
ligious ceremonies  of  Baptism,  the  office  in  Holy 
Week,  &c.,  are  commenced,  and  where  the  benatura, 
or  holy-water  font,  is  usually  placed  in  the  first  com- 
partment from  the  west  end.  The  plan  is  square,  the 
interior  is  lighted  by  small  windows,  the  walls  are 
of  stone,  while  the  roof  shows  the  framework  of 
the  timbers,  and  the  high-pointed  gable,  on  which  is 
engraven,  on  a  prominent  star,  Sancta  Maria,  ora 
pro  nobis,  is.  surmounted  by  a  floriated  stone  cross. 

The  Sacristy  is  built  on  the  south  side  of  the  chan- 
cel, and  is  covered  with  a  sloping  roof,  which  falls 
just  below  the  circular  window  at  the  east  end  of  the 
aisle.  It  is  lighted  by  small  coupled  lancet  windows, 
widely  splayed  in  the  interior,  and  is  connected  by  a 
side  doorway  through  the  wall  of  the  chancel  which 
opens  to  the  rear  of  the  Altar. 

The  church  was  dedicated  under  the  patronage  of 
the  Holy  Name  of  Mary,  Our  Lady  of  the  Isle,  1853. 


CHURCH  AT  WOONSOCKET,  R.  I. 

In  this  flourishing  manufacturing  village,  on  Black- 
stone  River,  near  the  line  of  Massachusetts,  Catholics 
sought  employment  as  early  as  1834,  and  were  occa- 
sionally visited  by  our  Missionary  from  Worcester. 
Their  number  of  about  thirty  having  increased  in  time 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  221 

to  upwards  of  two  hundred,  a  small  church  of  forty 
by  sixty  feet  was,  in  1843,  projected  for  their  accom- 
modation. In  a  few  years  after  the  departure  of  our 
Missionary  to  Newport,  Rev.  Charles  O'Reilly,  in 
consequence  of  the  demand  for  church  room,  enlarged 
the  little  building  to  eighty  by  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty feet ;  since  which  time  a  new,  spacious,  and  beau- 
tiful church  edifice  has  been  erected  of  seventy  by 
one  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet. 

The  healthful  increase  of  the  congregation,  from 
1845  to  1865,  may  be  estimated  by  the  baptisms  con- 
ferred, which  averaging  one  hundred  and  fifty  each 
year,  gives  an  increase  of  two  thousand  from  births 
alone.  The  zeal  and  devotedness  of  both  pastor  and 
people  to-day  cannot  be  more  clearly  illustrated  than 
the  fact  that  they  have  a  Catholic  day  school  of  four 
hundred  and  fifty  pupils. 


CHURCH  AT  PROVIDENCE  AND  PAWTUCKET. 

As  early  as  1813,  the  small  colony  of  Catholics  at 
Providence,  who  were  attended  by  Rev.  Dr.  Matignon, 
and  occasionally  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Cheverus, 
from  Boston,  had  mass  in  a  small  wooden  building, 
then  standing  on  the  north  side  of  Sheldon  Street, 
about  one  hundred  feet  east  of  Benefit  Street.  This 
building,  which  had  previously  been  used  for  school 
purposes,  was,  subsequent  to  its  removal  to  another 
lot,  blown  down  in  "the  great  gale"  of  1815.  The 


222  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

names  of  the  principal  members,  or  those  who  then 
had  families,  as  we  learn  from  the  children  baptized, 
as  found  on  the  Baptismal  Register  of  the  Church  at 
Boston,  were :  Francis  McGill,  Charles  Delahunty, 
Luke  Higgins,  William  Jordan,  William  Rumford, 
and  John  Condon. 

In  1828,  Rev.  R.  D.  Woodley,  who  labored  in  the 
Boston  diocese  between  two  and  three  years,  was  com- 
missioned by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick  to  look 
after  the  immediate  spiritual  wants  of  the  Catholics 
of  Rhode  Island  and  the  neighboring  State  of  Con- 
necticut. From  his  report  we  learn  that  he  adminis- 
tered, while  on  the  mission,  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism, 
and  of  course  performed  his  other  ministerial  duties 
in  the  following  places.  That  at  Providence,  he  bap- 
tized adults  and  children,  eighty-two  ;  at  Pavvtucket, 
eleven  ;  Woonsocket,  three  ;  Newport,  sixty-eight ; 
Hartford,  twenty-five  ;  New  Haven,  two  ;  and  at  New 
London,  two. 

Learning  the  spiritual  destitution  of  the  faithful  dis- 
persed over  this  portion  of  his  diocese,  the  Bishop 
visited  Providence,  April  14,  1828,  and  offered  the 
holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass,  and  preached  in  Mechan- 
ic's Hall,  and  administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirma- 
tion to  five  persons.  The  day  following  he  waited 
upon  David  Wilkinson,  Esq.,  of  Pawtucket,  and  ac- 
knowledged his  indebtedness  for  his  Christian-like 
spirit  and  generous  good  feeling  in  presenting  the 
Catholics  a  desirable  lot  whereon  to  build  a  church 
for  their  special  accommodation.  Upon  this  lot, 
which  was  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  square, 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  223 

the  church  was  erected  the  year  following,  and  the 
holy  Sacrifice  of  the  mass  was  first  offered  in  it  by 
Rev.  Fr.  Wooclley. 

Providence  having  thus  received  occasional  clerical 
visits,  as  circumstances  permitted,  Rev.  John  Cony, 
a  few  months  previously  ordained,  succeeded  Father 
Woodley,  November  30,  1830,  and  in  connection  with 
this  city,  attended  Taunton  and  Newport.  The  wants 
of  the  faithful  in  these  two  latter  places  demanding 
more  particularly  the  special  attention  of  Father  Cor- 
ry,  Providence  and  Pawtucket  were  attended  during 
1833  and  1834  by  Rev.  Father  Conelly,  and  in  1835 
by  Rev.  Fathers  Lee  and  McNamee. 


CHURCH  OF  SS.  PETER  AND  PAUL. 

A  site  for  the  church  in  Providence,  on  High  Street, 
measuring  fifty  by  two  hundred  and  ten  feet,  was  se- 
cured February  15,  1832,  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars ; 
but  the  edifice,  for  want  of  funds,  was  not  commenced 
till  three  years  later ;  the  faithful,  in  the  meanwhile, 
through  the  kindly  spirit  and  generous  good  feeling 
of  their  fellow-citizens,  were  allowed  the  privilege 
of  the  Town  Hall  for  Sunday  services.  It  was  here  in 
1836,  when  the  Bishop  came  to  see  and  encourage 
the  erection  of  the  church,  the  foundation  of  which 
had  been  already  laid  by  Rev.  Fr.  Lee,  measuring 
eighty  by  forty-four  feet,  that  he  offered  the  holy  Sac- 
rifice, and  preached  to  a  delighted  congregation,  com- 


224  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

posed  of  all  the  Catholics  who  then  resided  in  the 
city,  and  for  miles  around,  who  were  assembled  on 
that  occasion,  and  were  estimated  as  numbering  near 
a  thousand  souls. 

Many  were  the  difficulties  that  arose,  from  one  cause 
or  another,  from  the  time  the  foundation  was  laid  till 
the  church  was  completed,  and  principally  for  the 
want  of  funds  ;  the  mechanics  threatening  from  time 
to  time  to  lay  an  attachment  on  the  building,  to  secure 
their  wages ;  on  all  which  occasions,  the  Bishop,  poor 
as  he  himself  was,  had  to  come  to  the  rescue.  Rev. 
Fr.  Lee  having  been  relieved  the  latter  part  of  May, 
1837,  Rev.  Fr.  Corry  took  charge  of  the  congregation 
in  the  month  of  August  and  encouraged  the  comple- 
tion of  the  church,  so  far,  that  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
mass,  to  the  delight  of  the  congregation,  was  therein 
offered  the  second  Sunday  of  Advent  the  same  year  ; 
and  the  year  following,  November  4,  1838,  it  was 
dedicated  to  God  under  the  title  of  SS.  Peter  and 
Paul,  though  it  was  then  not  entirely  finished,  there 
being  not  even  a  sacristy  or  vestry,  so  that  the  Bishop 
had  to  be  vested  in  the  porch.  This,  however,  he 
considered  of  small  inconvenience  compared  to  a  much 
greater,  a  debt  yet  standing  of  five  thousand  dollars. 

Among  the  generous  donors  to  this  first  Catholic 
church  in  Providence,  Messrs.  Philip  Allen  &  Son 
presented  a  fine-toned  Spanish  bell,  weighing  about 
one  thousand  pounds.  In  1841  a  sweet-toned  organ 
was  placed  in  the  church,  and  as  far  as  we  learn,  the 
whole  expense  of  the  lot,  church,  organ,  and  church 
furniture,  amounted  to  about  twelve  thousand  dollars. 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  225 

The  following  notice  appeared  in  the  public  press 
of  the  day  :  "  The  church  covers  an  area  ninety-eight 
feet  by  forty-four.  It  is  thirty-four  feet  high,  having 
a  fine  basement  story,  in  which  are  two  good  school- 
rooms. The  walls  of  the  house  are  built  of  slate- 
stone,  covered  with  cement.  It  is  a  castellated  Gothic 
structure,  with  a  tower  of  fine  proportions  and  finish." 

The  census  taken  in  December,  1839,  gave  the 
adult  population  as  ten  hundred  and  eighty-seven. 
Children  of  four  years  of  age  and  under,  two  hundred 
and  seventeen  ;  between  four  and  ten  years,  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-three  ;  between  ten  and  seventeen 
years,  one  hundred  and  nineteen.  Total  Catholic 
population,  sixteen  hundred  and  ninety-six. 

The  following  table  shows  the  baptisms  and  mar- 
riages performed  during  the  first  ten  years,  from  the 
opening  of  the  church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul :  — 

Years.  Baptisms.  Marriages. 

1837  to  l838  l64  41 

1838  to  1839  163  55 

1839  to  1840  204  50 

1840  to  1841  190  43 

1841  to  1842  198  60 

1842  to  1843  174  52 

1843  to  1844  240  53 

1844  to  1845  281  78 

1845  to  1846  312  82 

1846  to  1847  333  8 1 

While  the  Baptismal  and  Marriage  Registers  of  this 
'5 


226  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

one  church  alone  show  the  healthful  increase  of  Catho- 
licity for  the  first  ten  years  from  the  estahlishment  of 
the  church  in  this  city,  the  Registers  of  other  churches, 
since  erected,  are  equally  satisfactory,  as  we  learn 
that  the  baptisms  administered  in  Providence  during 
the  year  1870  amount  to  thirteen  hundred  and  thirty- 
eight,  and  the  marriages  to  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
nine  ;  and  that  during  the  same  year,  1870,  the  baptisms 
administered  in  all  the  churches  of  the  State  amount 
to  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty-three,  and 
the  marriages  to  six  hundred  and  twenty-one. 


CHURCH  OF  ST.  PATRICK. 

In  consequence  of  the  spread  of  Catholicity  in  the 
city,  and  the  Church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul  being 
insufficient  for  their  accommodation,  the  Catholics  at 
the  North  End,  so  called,  invited  the  Bishop  to  visit 
them,  and  view  the  site  which  the}-  thought  desirable 
for  another  church,  for  themselves  and  families.  With 
this  invitation  the  Bishop  complied,  and  the  eligible 
location  on  Smith's  Hill  having  been  approved  of, 
Rev.  Mr.  Fenelly,  the  pastor  at  Pawtucket,  was  au- 
thorized to  superintend  the  undertaking,  April  19, 
1841.  The  excavation  was  forthwith  commenced,  and 
the  foundation  walls  were  blessed  by  the  Bishop,  agree- 
ably with  the  Ceremonial,  the  I3th  of  July  following. 

Rev.  Fr.  Fenelly  receiving  permission,  August  the 
24th,  to  visit  Europe,  Rev.  Denis  Ryan,  who  for  near 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  227 

a  quarter  of  a  century  had  labored  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  had  temporary  charge  of  the  enterprise  till 
the  appointment  of  Rev.  William  Wiley  as  pastor  of 
the  congregation,  January  II,  1842. 

The  church  completed,  and  its  altar  and  decora- 
tions finished  under  the  immediate  supervision  of 
Father  Wiley,  whose  taste,  love  and  zeal  for  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  greater  honor  and  glory  of 
God  and  appropriateness  in  His  holy  sanctuary,  it 
was  difficult  for  any  one  to  surpass.  The  day  selected 
for  its  dedication  was  the  first  Sunday  of  the  follow- 
ing month  of  July.  Pontifical  Mass  was  celebrated 
by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick,  assisted  by  Rev.  Fr. 
Donohue,  of  Philadelphia,  as  Deacon,  and  Rev.  Fr. 
Fitzpatrick,  of  Boston,  as  Sub-Deacon.  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Hughes,  of  New  York,  preached  on  the 
occasion,  while  the  music  was  by  the  choir  of  the 
Cathedral,  Boston.  There  were  likewise  present  in 
the  sanctuary,  besides  the  pastor,  Rev.  W.  Wiley, 
Rev.  Fr.  Corry,  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  and  Rev. 
Ed.  Murphy,  of  Fall  River. 

This  edifice,  the  style  of  which  is  Gothic,  and 
the  material  blue  slate  stone,  was  dedicated  to  God 
under  the  title  of  St.  Patrick,  and  was  at  the  time  — 
for  it  has  since  been  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  side 
galleries  —  seventy-five  feet  in  length  by  fifty-five  in 
breadth,  exclusive  of  tower,  which  was  twelve  feet 
square,  and  sixty-two  feet  high,  in  which  was  hung  a 
sweet-toned  bell  of  two  thousand  pounds,  the  offer- 
ing, in  part,  of  P.  Allen,  Esq.,  a  generous  Protestant 
gcMitleman,  who,  of  his  own  free  will,  contributed 


228  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

three  hundred  dollars  towards  it.  The  church,  inde- 
pendent of  the  choir  gallery,  was  fitted  up  to  accom- 
modate eight  hundred  sittings,  and  with  its  vest- 
ments, sacred  vessels,  and  all  requisites  for  divine 
service,  cost  eighteen  thousand  two  hundred  and 
seventy  dollars. 

The  Bishop  visited  Providence  again  October  23, 
and  administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  in 
this  church  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  persons  ; 
at  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  to  two  hundred  and  thirty ; 
and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  at  Pawtucket, 
to  one  hundred  and  five. 

The  number  of  Catholics  in  Providence,  eight  years 
subsequently,  who  availed  themselves  of  the  spiritual 
advantages  of  the  Jubilee,  that  is,  in  1850,  was  about 
eight  thousand.  Over  five  thousand  approached  the 
Altar  at  the  Cathedral  Church  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  two  thousand  six  hundred  at  St.  Patrick's. 
There  were  then,  in  both  churches,  religious  Confra- 
ternities, schools,  and  temperance  societies. 

Having  thus  sketched  the  early  establishment  and 
rapid  progress  of  the  churches  in  Providence,  we  will 
retrace  our  steps  a  few  years,  that  we  may  —  as  if 
living  and  sharing  in  the  work  of  the  day  —  look 
upon  the  extension  of  the  first  church  of  eighty  by 
forty-four  feet,  to  its  present  roomy  dimensions. 

Rev.   Fr.  Corry,  who   in    1841,  in  consequence  of 

ill  health,  petitioned  the  Bishop  to  be  relieved  of  his 

charge  over  the  congregation,  was,  in  October,  1843, 

'succeeded  by  our  Missionary.     The   church    at  the 

time   had  been  placed  under  an  interdict,  the  result 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  229 

of  lay  interference  with  affairs  beyond  their  control ; 
electing,  irrespective  of  authority,  and  assuming  re- 
sponsibilities, without  so  much  as  the  formula  of 
invitation  !  In  a  word,  there  was  a  self-constituted 
committee  of  thirteen,  who,  after  the  departure  of 
Fr.  Corry,  had  taken  possession  of  the  keys,  books, 
and  church  property  in  general,  and  who,  unconscious 
of  the  danger,  had  inaugurated  what  was  known  at 
the  day  as  Trusteeism. 

Mass  having  been  said,  the  congregation  were  ad- 
dressed on  the  propriety  of  obedience  to  authority ; 
on  the  sad  consequence  of  lay  interference  with 
clerical  affairs  that  did  not  concern  them  ;  that  the 
cause  of  strife  and  contention  that  had  been,  and 
which  probably  would  be  till  the  end  of  time,  was 
the  result  of  man's  neglecting  his  own,  to  attend  to 
his  neighbor's  business. 

At  the  close  of  the  familiar  address,  which  all 
seemed  to  understand,  the  question  was  put  whether 
the  congregation  were  prepared  to  receive  the  Mis- 
sionary, who,  in  obedience  to  authority,  stood  before 
them  ;  and  if  so,  whether  it  was  their  wishes  that  the 
keys,  the  account-books,  and  all  else  belonging  to  the 
Church,  should  be  produced  and  placed  in  the  sanc- 
tuary before  them  ;  and  if  so,  to  manifest  their  pleas- 
ure by  rising.  The  appeal  was  sufficient.  The  self- 
elected  committee  saw  the  propriety  of  obedience. 
All  was  restored,  and  a  blessing  imparted,  for  each  to 
retire  quietly,  and  take  their  dinner  in  peace  and 
comfort. 

Encouraging  the  education  of  youth,  and  establish- 


230  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

ing  schools,  as  had  been  done  at  Boston,  Hartford, 
and  Worcester,  was  one  of  the  first  movements  the 
Missionary  made.  This  was  done  wherever  suffi- 
cient numbers  could  be  assembled  for  the  purpose, 
not  only  for  acquiring  knowledge,  whereby  they 
might  become  more  useful  and  better  citizens,  but  for 
the  practical  and  every  day  acquaintance  with  their 
religion,  its  duties  and  obligations,  the  knowledge  of 
salvation,  and  the  end  of  their  creation,  which  he 
always  contended  could  not  be  sufficiently  taught  in 
a  few  short  hours,  and  with  little  ones  distracting 
each  other,  on  any  one  day  of  the  week,  however 
well  disposed,  zealous,  or  industrious  any  Sunday 
school  teacher  might  possibly  be. 

Catholic  schools  for  boys  and  girls  having  been 
thus  advocated,  in  no  former  place  where  the  same 
had  been  introduced  were  parents  to  be  found  more 
willing  to  second  these  efforts  than  in  Providence. 
This  has  been  ever  found  one  of  the  first  grand  se- 
crets for  establishing  and  maintaining  mutual  good 
will  between  pastor  and  people.  Catholic  parents 
love  their  children,  and  are  generally  aware  of  their 
responsibility.  Whoever,  therefore,  would  labor  with 
profit  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  let  little  ones,  partic- 
ularly, be  esteemed  and  cared  for.  In  heaven,  it  is 
said,  we  know  our  own  ;  and  if  parents  so  toil  for 
the  support  of  their  children  in  this  life,  one  of  the 
greatest  inducements,  as  faith  teaches,  must  be  to 
have  them  so  educated  in  the  science  of  sanctity  that 
hereafter  there  may  be  no  separation. 


DIOCESE  OF  HARTFORD.  23! 


CHURCH  OF  OUR  LADY  OF  MT.  CARMEL,  CROMPTON. 

Apart  from  Pawtucket,  the  largest  number  of  the 
faithful  living  in  any  town  contiguous  to  the  city,  and 
who  were  considered  as  belonging  to  the  charge  of 
the  pastor  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  were  at  Crompton. 

This  place  having  been  attended  monthly,  and  the 
hard-working  and  industrious  operatives  in  the  fac- 
tory, among  whom  were  those  having  families  of 
little  ones,  being  anxious  to  have  a  place  where  they 
might  assemble  on  Sundays,  and  willing  to  contribute 
according  to  their  means,  an  acre  of  land  was  se- 
cured, September  23,  1844.  -^  small  church,  a 
frame  building,  was  immediately  erected,  and,  as  the 
location  selected  was  on  the  hillside  of  the  village, 
overlooking  the  country  for  miles  distant,  was  styled 
the  "  Church  of  Our  Lady  of  Mount  Carmel." 

The  congregation  of  Crompton  and  its  neighbor- 
hood was  confided  to  the  special  care  of  Rev.  James 
Gibson,  who  attended  it  occasionally,  as  his  duties  at 
other  stations  permitted,  till  August,  1851,  when, 
assuming  its  sole  charge,  he  added  seven  and  three 
quarters  acres  to  the  original  purchase,  thus  making 
eight  acres  and  three  quarters  of  land,  all  enclosed 
within  a  substantial  stone  wall.  Besides  which,  for 
the  better  accommodation  of  the  congregation,  he 
has  added  twenty  by  fifty-eight  feet  to  the  church, 
making  it  one  hundred  and  eight  by  fifty  feet,  inde- 
pendent of  Sanctuary  and  Sacristy,  twenty  by  twenty- 
one,  and  a  tower,  twelve  by  twelve  square  and  forty- 


232  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

five  feet  high,  with  a  sweet-toned  bell,  of  over  four- 
teen hundred  pounds'  weight. 

He  has  also  built  a  pastoral  residence  of  thirty  by 
twenty-eight  feet,  tastefully  and  conveniently  ar- 
ranged, and  a  school-house  eighteen  by  forty  feet, 
wherein  to  gather  and  superintend  the  little  ones  of 
his  spiritual  charge. 

Untiring  in  his  efforts  for  the  convenience  and  good 
of  all,  he  has  latterly  secured,  on  what  is  known  as 
Birch  Hill,  a  very  fine  building,  over  thirty-one  by 
forty-five  feet,  erected  originally  for  the  purpose  of  a 
select  high  school,  which  he  has  converted  into  a  neat 
little  church,  with  its  porch,  of  eight  by  ten,  and  its 
sacristy,  twelve  by  fifteen  feet. 


ENLARGEMENT  OF  THE  CHURCH  OF  SS.  PETER 
AND  PAUL. 

Right  Rev.  Bishop  Tyler,  soon  after  his  consecra- 
tion in  March,  coming  to  take  charge  of  his  diocese, 
which  embraced  the  States  of  Rhode  Island  and  Con- 
necticut, selected,  as  it  appeared  to  him  best,  at  the 
time,  the  city  of  Providence,  as  the  most  convenient 
point  for  his  residence.  As  our  Missionary,  upon  his 
arrival,  finding  that,  from  some  cause  or  other,  win- 
dows had  been  originally  put  in  but  on  one  side  of 
the  church,  thus  leaving  a  smothered,  fainting,  suffo- 
cating crowd  to  the  sweltering  heat  of  summer,  had 
soon  called  upon  masons  and  carpenters  to  remedy 


DIOCESE   OF   HARTFORD.  233 

the  evil,  so  good  Bishop  Tyler,  having  selected  the 
same  church  for  his  Cathedral,  and  finding  it  so  very 
limited,  intimated  to  the  congregation  the  propriety 
of  enlarging  it.  To  this  they  cheerfully  assented, 
and,  after  the  example  of  Bishop  Fenwick,  who, 
upon  his  arrival  at  Boston,  found  the  church  of  Holy 
Cross  too  small  for  the  accommodation  of  the  faith- 
ful, and  having  land  that  he  could  use  for  the  pur- 
pose, by  removing  the  house  occupied  by  his  Right 
Reverend  predecessor,  added  forty  feet  to  the  length 
by  seventy  feet  in  width,  at  the  Sanctuary  end,  so 
Bishop  Tyler,  similarly  circumstanced,  enlarged  his 
church,  giving  it  the  form  of  a  T>  and  making  it 
more  than  double  its  original  dimensions,  and  thus 
affording  ample  room  for  the  congregation,  previous 
to  the  demand  for  other  churches  that  have  since 
been  erected. 

Another  passing  illustration  of  small  beginnings. 
The  Missionary,  at  his  coming  to  Providence,  had  no 
place  outside  of  the  church  sanctuary  for  chair  or 
table ;  nor  had  Bishop  Tyler,  upon  his  arrival,  any- 
thing better  for  his  accommodation  than  a  small,  one- 
story,  wooden  building,  with  its  kitchen,  dormitory, 
and  room  for  all  work.  This,  though  large  enough 
for  the  Missionary,  who  built  it  for  himself,  and 
whose  work  lay  principally  in  the  church  basement, 
was  rather  diminutive  for  an  Episcopal  residence  ; 
but,  notwithstanding,  it  had  to  serve  the  purpose  till 
larger  accommodations  could  be  secured. 

During  his  brief  pontificate,  from  his  consecration 
in  1844  till  his  death  in  1849,  Right  Rev.  Bishop 


234  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Tyler  was  indefatigable  in  the  discharge  of  the  many 
arduous  duties  which  fell  to  his  lot  as  first  Bishop 
of  so  extensive  a  diocese,  provided  in  the  beginning, 
as  it  was,  with  but  six  priests  to  assist  him,  —  two  in 
Providence,  one  at  Pawtucket,  one  at  Hartford,  one 
at  New  Haven,  and  one  at  Bridgeport. 


DEATH  OF  THE  FIRST  BISHOP  OF  HARTFORD. 

Right  Rev.  William  Tyler,  first  Bishop  of  Hart- 
ford, died  the  iSth  of  June,  1849,  at  n^s  Episcopal 
residence  in  Providence,  in  the  forty-fifth  year  of 
his  age. 

Bishop  Tyler  was  born  of  Protestant  parents,  in 
the  town  of  Derby,  Vt.,  but  had  the  happiness  of 
being  brought,  by  divine  grace,  to  the  knowledge  and 
profession  of  the  true  faith  at  the  early  age  of  six- 
teen. His  father  and  mother,  and  all  the  other  mem- 
bers of  his  family,  were  received  into  the  bosom  of 
the  Church  about  the  same  time.  From  the  moment 
of  his  conversion  to  the  true  faith,  Bishop  Tyler  was 
distinguished  by  his  modest  virtues,  and  by  the  emi- 
nent sanctity  of  his  life. 

He  pursued  his  course  of  classical  studies  at  Clare- 
mont,  N.  H.,  under  the  direction  of  his  reverend 
cousin,  Father  V.  H.  Barber,  who  had  been  also 
converted  from  Protestantism,  and  was  formerly  a 
minister,  with  a  comfortable  maintenance.  He  was 
now  a  priest ;  but,  unwilling  to  tax  the  little  congre- 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  235 

gation  he  had  gathered  around  him,  who,  for  the 
most  part,  had  once  been  Protestants  like  himself,  he 
earned  a  partial  support  by  teaching  the  classics  and 
higher  branches  of  education. 

Whilst  Bishop  Tyler  was  yet  a  student  in  the  acad- 
emy of  Claremont,  his  rare  virtues  and  the  solid 
qualities  of  his  mind  and  judgment  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  Bishop  Fenwick,  and,  as  he  exhibited  sat- 
isfactory signs  of  a  vocation  to  the  ecclesiastical  state, 
he  was  taken  by  this  eminent  prelate  into  his  own 
house  in  Boston,  and  under  his  immediate  guidance 
commenced  and  completed  his  course  of  theological 
studies. 

In  the  year  1828  he  was  elevated  to  the  priesthood. 
From  that  moment  forward  it  may  be  said  with 
truth  that  "  he  had  been  delivered,  through  the  grace 
of  God,  unto  the  work  which  he  accomplished." 
His  life  as  a  priest  was  a  model  for  ecclesiastics. 
Not  an  hour  was  given  to  idleness,  vain  amusements, 
or  visits.  He  was  well  ordered  in  the  distribution  of 
his  time,  and  every  portion  of  it  well  spent.  Zeal 
for  the  glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  true 
humility,  total  indifference  to  popular  favor  or  ap- 
plause, and  a  perfect  spirit  of  poverty,  were  his 
peculiar  virtues,  and  his  whole  life  was  spent  in  the 
practise  of  them.  His  aversion  to  honors  and  dis- 
tinction of  every  kind  was  so  great,  that  he  could 
hardly  be  induced  to  accept  the  episcopacy  to  which 
he  was  appointed.  Nothing  but  his  great  deference 
for  the  will  of  Bishop  Fenwick,  whom  he  revered  as 
a  father,  and  a  formal  decision  of  Father  Dziera- 


236  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

zinski,  under  whose  direction  he  made  a  spiritual 
retreat  at  the  time,  could  have  extorted  his  consent. 

He  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Fenwick,  in  the 
Cathedral  at  Baltimore,  on  the  lyth  of  March,  1844. 
His  career  as  Bishop,  like  his  priesthood,  was  humble 
and  unassuming,  but  laborious  and  fruitful.  His  nat- 
ural constitution  was  not  strong,  and  for  two  years 
before  his  death  his  medical  adviser  endeavored  to 
dissuade  him  from  taking  part  in  the  active  labors  of 
the  ministry  ;  but  he  persevered  to  the  end,  taking 
always  upon  himself  the  larger  portion  of  the  work 
in  the  confessional  and  the  pulpit,  and  sparing  the 
young  clergymen  who  were  his  assistants.  He  ever 
continued  to  attend  the  sick  until  within  the  last  year 
of  his  life. 

He  was  thus  proceeding  in  the  discharge  of  his 
Episcopal  duties  with  unremitting  assiduity,  and  with 
a  success  proportioned  to  his  zeal,  when  it  pleased 
the  Lord  of  the  Vineyard  to  call  him  from  his  labors, 
and  invite  him  to  sweet  repose.  Although  enfeebled, 
and  almost  exhausted  in  strength,  he  attended,  with 
great  edification  to  his  colleagues,  the  council  held  at 
Baltimore  in  1849,  and  applied  for  a  Coadjutor. 

On  his  way  homeward,  he  contracted  the  disease 
—  rheumatic  fever  —  which  terminated  his  life.  The 
morning  after  his  arrival  at  Providence,  which  was 
Pentecost  Sunday,  he  endeavored  once  more  to  offer 
up  the  august  sacrifice  of  the  altar ;  but  when  he 
arrived  in  the  sanctuary,  he  found  his  strength  of 
body  unequal  to  the  pious  desire  of  his  heart,  and 
being  unable  to  celebrate  Mass,  he  assisted  at  the 


DIOCESE    OF    HARTFORD.  237 

holy  mysteries,  seated  in  a  chair  near  the  altar.  Im- 
mediately afterwards  he  was  obliged  to  seek  repose 
on  the  bed,  from  which  he  was  to  rise  no  more.  He 
was  attended  in  his  last  hours  by  his  friend,  the  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  of  Boston,  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  from 
whom  he  received  the  last  sacraments  of  the  Church. 

During  the  last  two  days  of  his  life  the  disease 
settled  upon  the  brain  of  the  pious  sufferer,  and  de- 
prived him  of  his  reason.  In  the  moments  of  delir- 
ium, his  only  care  and  his  only  complaint  was,  that 
he  should  be  prevented  from  working  for  the  souls 
intrusted  to  his  charge,  and  he  frequently  implored 
permission  to  return  to  the  labors  of  his  office,  from 
which  he  imagined  that  he  was  withdrawn. 

But  the  Divine  Master  was  satisfied  with  the  labors 
already  performed.  Twenty  years,  of  which  every 
day  and  every  hour  had  been  devoted  to  the  great 
and  only  work  of  the  Bishop  and  the  Priest — the 
sanctification  of  souls  —  gave  sufficient  evidence  of 
the  purity  of  his  faith,  the  fervor  of  his  love.  For 
him  the  heat  and  burden  of  the  day  were  over.  He 
died  June  iStli,  and  was  buried  on  the  2Oth  of  the 
same  month,  1849,  'm  tne  basement  of  SS.  Peter 
and  Paul's  Church,  which  he  had  selected  as  his 
Cathedral.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  of  Boston,  officiated 
pontifically,  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of  the 
clergy  of  his  own  and  the  neighboring  dioceses. 

With  this  brief  obituary  notice  of  the  sainted 
Bishop  Tyler,  we  pass  to  the  third  Diocese  established 
in  New  England,  that  of  Burlington,  leaving  to  others 


238  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

the  pleasing  labor  of  recounting  the  rapid  spread  of 
Catholicity  throughout  the  Hartford  Diocese,  which, 
commencing,  in  1844,  with  its  six  priests,  eight 
churches,  and  nine  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  souls,  now  numbers  its  one  hundred  churches, 
besides  sixty-four  chapels  and  stations  ;  its  ninety-five 
priests,  and  seventy  clerical  students ;  its  ten  male 
and  female  academies ;  its  forty-four  parochial  free 
schools ;  its  orphan  asylums  ;  and  its  two  hundred 
thousand  Catholic  population,  —  all  within  a  quarter 
of  a  century  ! 

While  these  Sketches  are  passing  through  the 
press,  Providence,  we  learn,  has  been  erected  into  a 
Diocese. 


DIOCESE   OF  BURLINGTON, 
COMPRISING  THE  STATE  OF  VERMONT. 

THIS  Diocese  was  established  in  1853.  Right  Rev. 
L.  DE  GOESBRIAND,  D.  D.,  its  first  Bishop,  was  con- 
secrated October  30,  1853. 

Jacques  Cartier,  a  French  navigator,  who  had  been 
intrusted,  as  we  have  already  seen,  by  Francis  the 
First,  with  the  command  of  an  expedition  to  explore 
the  western  hemisphere,  was,  probably,  the  first 
European  whose  eye  ever  rested  on  the  mountains 
of  Vermont.  On  the  second  day  of  October,  1535, 
he  arrived  with  a  few  volunteers  at  an  Indian  settle- 
ment called  Hochelaga,  which  was  afterwards  called 
Mount  Royal,  whence  the  present  name  Montreal. 
Donnacona,  an  Algonkin  Chief,  conducted  him  to  the 
summit  of  Mount  Royal,  which  towered  above  the 
settlement,  and  showed  him,  "  in  that  bright  October 
sun,"  the  country  for  many  miles  south  and  east,  and 
told  him  of  great  rivers  and  inland  seas,  and  of 
smaller  rivers  and  lakes  penetrating  a  beautiful  terri- 
tory belonging  to  the  warlike  Iroquois.  These  In- 
dians had  settlements  in  the  interior  of  the  State 
now  called  Vermont,  but  whose  earlier  name  was 
Iroquoisia. 

239 


240  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Many  years  afterward,  Samuel  de  Champlain,  ac- 
companied by  several  friendly  Hurons,  proceeded  to 
the  locality  described  by  Carrier,  and  on  the  Fourth 
day  of  July,  1609,  entered  the  lake  which,  to  this  day, 
is  known  by  his  name. 

For  more  than  a  century  Lake  Champlain  was 
claimed  by  the  French.  French  names  were  given 
to  its  rivers  and  islands,  which  they  still  retain. 
French  seigniories  covering  the  borders  of  the  lake, 
and  occupying  eligible  spots  on  both  shores,  were 
actually  mapped  out,  granted,  and  named  after  their 
respective  French  proprietors.* 

The  Isle  La  Motte,  in  the  County  of  Grand  Isle, 
has  the  honor  of  being  the  first  point  within  the 
limits  of  Vermont  where  a  civilized  establishment 
and  occupancy  were  commenced.  In  1664,  M.  De 
Tracy,  then  Governor  of  La  Nouvelle  France,  or 
Canada,  entered  upon  the  work  of  erecting  a  line  of 
fortifications  from  the  mouth  of  the  Richelieu  (Sorel) 
River  into  Lake  Champlain.  The  first  year  he  con- 
structed three  forts  upon  the  river;  and  the  next 
spring — 1665  —  he  ordered  Capt.  De  La  Motte  to 
proceed  up  Lake  Champlain,  and  erect  another  for- 
tress upon  an  island,  which  he  had  designated.  It 
was  completed  that  same  year,  and  named  after  the 
mother  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  Fort  St.  Ann.  The 
name  of  the  island  upon  which  the  fort  was  erected 
took  the  name  of  the  builder,  and  has  been  known 
ever  since  as  the  Isle  La  Motte. 

*  G.  F.  Houghton,  Esq.  Vermont  Gazetteer.  Franklin 
Co.,  vol.  ii.  p.  89. 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTON.  24! 

This  fortress,  the  remains  of  which  are  still  to  be 
seen,  was  not  only  built,  but  occupied,  doubtless,  for 
a  long  period  of  years  by  the  French  as  a  garrison  ; 
and  the  island  itself  was  occupied  by  them  for  near  a 
century. 

We  have  not  at  hand  the  names  of  those  Reverend 
Fathers,  who,  as  chaplains,  officiated  at  those  gar- 
risons of  other  days,  or  spent  their  lives  among  the 
aborigines  of  the  forest.  They,  however,  toiled  not 
for  worldly  renown  ;  they  served  not  a  Master  subject 
to  death  ;  they  have  gone  to  their  rest.  It  is  gratify- 
ing, notwithstanding,  to  remark,  that  the  holy  Sacri- 
fice of  mass  they  offered  is  still  perpetuated  ;  that  the 
Isle  La  Motte  has,  at  this  day,  her  consecrated  altar 
and  devout  worshippers  of  French  and  Irish  ances- 
try, and  descendants  of  those  who  fought  and  bled  for 
the  liberty,  peace,  and  plenty  we  enjoy. 


MISSIONS   THROUGHOUT   THE    STATE. 

From  the  Baptismal  Register  of  the  Church  in 
Boston,  we  learn  that  in  1815  Rev.  Dr.  Matignon 
visited  Burlington,  and  that  all  who  were  apprised 
of  his  visit  assembled  from  the  neighboring  districts, 
being  mostly  French  Canadians,  to  whom  he  admin- 
istered the  consolations  of  religion,  and  baptized  thir- 
teen of  their  children,  from  the  age  of  twelve  months 
and  upwards. 

Subsequent  to  this  visit  of  Rev.  Dr.  Matignon, 
16 


242  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Burlington,  and  the  northern  towns  of  Vermont, 
received  occasional  visits  from  Very  Rev.  Father 
Mignault,  the  beloved  patriarch  of  Chambly,  Can- 
ada, who,  for  years  previous  to  his  death,  generously 
fulfilled  the  office  of  Vicar  General  to  the  Bishop  of 
Boston.  The  good  priest  of  Plattsburgh  also,  by 
permission  of  the  Bishop  of  New  York,  was  ever 
ready  to  attend  sick  calls  on  the  Vermont  side  of 
Lake  Champlain. 

In  the  spring  of  1821,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of 
Messrs.  White  and  Nichols,  of  Vergennes,  converts 
to  the  faith,  and  a  few  other  devout  souls,  Right  Rev. 
Dr.  De  Cheverus  commissioned  Rev.  Paul  McQuade 
to  attend  the  Catholic  residents  of  this  part  of  the 
State.  Having  selected  Vergennes  as  the  centre  of 
his  mission,  he  visited  Burlington,  Middlebury,  and 
other  neighboring  towns,  and  returned  to  Boston  in 
the  fall  of  the  same  year.  A  private  room  in  the 
house  of  Mr.  White,  on  the  border  of  Otter  Creek, 
twelve  by  fourteen  feet,  was  then  amply  sufficient  for 
altar,  priest,  and  congregation. 

The  next  account  we  have  of  any  clerical  visit 
throughout  the  State  was  in  1829.  The  end  accom- 
plished, for  which  the  Missionary  had  been  sent  to 
the  Passamaquoddy  tribe  of  Indians  in  Maine,  that 
is,  next  to  the  immediate  object  had  in  view,  which 
was  affording  spiritual  advice  and  encouragement  to 
those  devoted  Christians  of  the  forest,  the  reading  a 
valedictory  to  a  certain  Puritan  minister,  who,  unin- 
vited, had  taken  up  his  residence  m  the  neighborhood, 
and,  in  the  character  of  school  teacher,  was  attempt- 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTOX.  243 

ing  proselytism  among  the  Indian  youth  ;  this  end 
accomplished,  his  next  commission  was  to  look  after 
the  spiritual  wants  of  the  faithful  spread  over  the 
State  of  Vermont.  Several  months  were  spent  on 
this  tour,  administering  the  sacraments,  hearing  con- 
fessions, and  wherever  favorable  opportunity  pre- 
sented, and  one  or  more  Catholic  families  could  be 
found,  offering  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  mass,  and  preach- 
ing, not  only  to  those  of  the  household  of  faith,  but 
those  who  were  not  thus  peculiarly  blessed,  at  one 
time  in  the  village  school-house,  at  another  in  the 
Town  House,  and  occasionally,  where  liberality  per- 
mitted, in  the  meeting-house,  and  not  unfrequently 
where  a  Catholic  had  never  been  seen,  much  less  a 
living  Catholic  priest ! 

The  method  pursued  on  such  occasions,  and  that 
which  seldom  failed  to  secure  attention  and  favorable 
hearing,  was  to  invite  the  minister,  elder,  or  deacon, 
if  either  was  present,  or  if  absent,  some  one  of  the 
audience,  to  select  a  portion  of  the  Scripture  that 
might  be  deemed  advisable  to  hear  expounded  in  a 
Catholic  sense,  or  any  other  doctrinal  subject  that 
might  be  thought  instructive  or  interesting.  The 
kindliest  feeling  and  attention  was  generally  evinced, 
and  stranger  as  the  Missionary  was,  would  be  invited 
by  some  one  of  the  audience  to  lunch  with  him  before 
the  evening  discourse.  On  such  occasions,  a  slice  of 
pie  and  cheese  and  a  mug  of  cider,  and  sociable  con- 
versation, made  up  the  repast,  for  there  was  guileless 
honesty  in  those  days,  and  the  criminality  of  a  mug 
of  cider  had  not  amounted  to  a  penal  offence.  Ex- 


244  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

ceptions  there  were,  it  is  true,  but  the  "  Green  Moun- 
tain Boys  "  ever  seemed,  from  some  cause  or  other, 
more  open-hearted,  courteous  and  obliging,  more  like 
the  descendants  of  patriarchal  society,  than  citizens 
of  certain  other  States. 

As  far  as  learned,  there  were  then  residing  at  Pitts- 
ford  about  sixty  Catholics,  at  Middlebury,  thirty- 
seven,  at  Castleton,  thirty,  Poultney,  twenty-one,  at 
Wallingford,  fourteen,  at  Tinmouth,  fifteen,  at  Dor- 
set, eleven,  at  Bennington,  forty-eight,  at  Windsor 
and  Shrewsbury,  very  few,  as  in  the  last  place  men- 
tioned there  was  but  one  baptism. 


BURLINGTON. 

Learning  the  spiritual  destitution  of  the  faithful 
thus  dispersed  over  the  State,  Bishop  Fenwick,  in 
the  absence  of  so  much  as  a  priest  to  accompany 
him,  made,  in  1830,  a  tour  of  the  northern  part  of 
the  State ;  on  which  occasion  he  offered  the  holy 
Sacrifice  of  the  mass  at  the  private  residence  of  Mr. 
Nichols,  of  Vergennes,  where,  having  instructed,  he 
administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  to  six 
persons.  Continuing  his  journey,  he  said  mass  and 
preached  at  Burlington,  both  in  French  and  English, 
in  the  hall  of  Mr.  Howard's  Hotel,  where  he  likewise 
confirmed  those  whom  he  instructed,  six  in  number ; 
at  which  visit,  finding  several  English-speaking  as 
well  as  French  Canadian  Catholics,  he  encouraged 
the  erection  of  a  church. 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTON.  245 

Rev.  Jeremiah  O'Callaghan,  a  venerable  clergyman, 
formerly  of  the  city  of  Cork,  Ireland,  having  been 
affiliated  to  the  diocese,  was  appointed,  soon  after  the 
Bishop's  tour,  to  attend  the  spiritual  wants  of  the 
faithful  dispersed  throughout  the  State,  and  to  erect 
the  much  needed  church  at  Burlington  ;  this  he  in  time 
accomplished,  on  land,  a  portion  of  five  acres,  which 
had  been  presented  the  Catholics  for  their  sole  use 
by  one  of  Burlington's  noble-hearted  citizens,  though 
not  a  member  of  the  Church  at  the  time,  Colonel 
Hyde,  but  for  which  generous  deed  he  subsequently 
received  the  gift  of  holy  faith,  —  so  true  the  remark, 
that  love  for  God  and  charity  towards  our  neighbor 
receives  its  hundred-fold  reward. 

The  church  erected  was  a  neat  little  structure,  with 
its  tower  and  cross,  measuring  fifty  by  thirty-six  feet, 
which  was  blessed  by  the  Bishop,  assisted  by  Very 
Rev.  Fr.  Mignault,  of  Chambly,  and  the  pastor, 
September  9,  1832.  The  choir  on  the  occasion,  com- 
posed of  French  Canadians,  performed  their  part 
passably  well,  all  things  considered,  while  the  Bishop 
administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  to  twen- 
ty-seven persons.  On  the  same  day  there  were  twen- 
ty-five children  baptized,  who  were  mostly  of  Cana- 
dian parentage,  and  belonged  to  the  city  or  adjacent 
towns. 

While  Rev.  Fr.  O'Callaghan  was  visiting  other 
parts  of  the  State,  the  English-speaking  portion  of 
the  congregation  of  Burlington  Were  attended  by  Rev. 
John  Brady  and  such  other  clergymen  as  the  Bishop 
had  at  command,  while  Rev.  Fr.  Petithomme  offi- 


246  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

ciated  for  the  French  Canadians  from  May  21,  1834, 
till  his  appointment  to  the  Indian  mission  of  Maine, 
October  12,  1835. 

The  above  little  church  was,  from  some  cause  or 
other,  never  satisfactorily  explained,  consumed  by 
fire  in  the  month  of  May,  1838.  Soon,  however,  a 
new,  more  ornate,  and  spacious  brick  edifice  was 
erected  in  another  part  of  the  city,  which,  under  the 
title  of  St.  Peter's,  was  dedicated  to  God,  October  3, 
1841.  At  its  dedication,  Bishop  Fenwick  was  assisted 
by  the  venerable  Bishop  Janson,  of  Nancy,  France, 
who  was  at  the  time  giving  missions,  or  spiritual 
retreats,  in  Canada,  and  who,  in  the  benevolence  of 
his  great  and  generous  heart,  came,  accompanied  by 
Rev.  M.  L'Abbe  and  Rev.  M.  St.  Germain,  of  St. 
Lawrence,  to  prepare  the  Canadian  portion  of  the 
congregation  for  the  reception  of  the  sacraments  on 
the  joyful  occasion. 

Rev.  Fr.  O'Callaghan  having  had  the  entire  charge 
of  the  rising  congregations  throughout  the  State  till 
1834,  he  was  relieved  in  part  by  the  appointment 
of  Rev.  J.  A.  Walsh  to  its  southern  portion,  where 
he  labored  till  1835.  He  was  succeeded,  in  1837,  by 
Rev.  John  B.  Daley,  who,  in  1839,  superintended  the 
erection  of  the  neat  brick  church,  measuring  sixty  by 
forty  feet,  in  Middlebury,  which,  with  other  stations, 
he  attended  till  the  consecration  of  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
Goesbriand. 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTON.  247 


ST.  ALBANS. 

Leaving  Burlington,  Bishop  Fenwick,  accompanied 
by  Rev.  George  Goodwin,  repaired  to  St.  Albans, 
and,  at  a  temporary  altar  improvised  for  the  occasion 
in  the  Town  House,  offered  the  holy  Sacrifice  of 
mass,  and  preached  in  French  and  English,  as  the 
audience,  as  at  Burlington,  were  of  different  nation- 
alities. 

In  the  second  volume  of  Vermont  Gazetteer  by  Miss 
Hemenway,  page  338,  et  seq.,  there  is  the  following 
very  interesting  paper  by  Mrs.  B.  H.  Smalley,  which, 
though  in  its  dates  and  details  extend  beyond  what  is 
contemplated  in  our  early  sketches  of  the  Church,  is 
so  very  interesting  that  we  copy  the  article  entire  :  — 

When  Rev.  J.  O'Callaghan  came  as  Missionary  to 
Vermont,  and  established  his  residence  at  Burlington, 
he  found  a  few  families  of  Irish  and  Canadian  Cath- 
olics in  St.  Albans  and  vicinity,  to  whom  he  minis- 
tered at  stated  intervals  until  Rev.  William  Ivers 
undertook  the  charge  some  time  in  1841.  .At  this 
period  the  numbers  of  those  professing  the  faith  had 
increased  to  such  an  extent,  through  immigration 
from  Ireland  and  Canada,  that  the  congregation  as- 
sembling at  St.  Albans,  and  gathered  partly  from  the 
neighboring  towns,  amounted  to  one  thousand  ;  while 
there  were  several  other  congregations,  more  or  less 
numerous,  in  different  parts  of  Franklin  County,  for 
whose  wants  the  most  diligent  ministrations  of  one 
Missionary  were  scarcely  adequate.  In  1842  an  effort 


248  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

was  made,  under  the  suggestion  of  Fr.  Ivers,  to  pur- 
chase land  and  build  a  church  in  some  central  loca- 
tion in  or  near  the  village  of  St.  Albans,  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  rapidly  increasing  congregation. 
The  means  of  the  people  were  found  to  be  wholly 
inadequate,  however,  to  the  accomplishment  of  the 
undertaking,  and  it  was  abandoned.  Not  long  after 
Rev.  Fr.  Ivers  left,  and  the  mission  was  again  de- 
pendent upon  the  occasional  visits  of  Rev.  Fr.  O'Cal- 
laghan,  whose  faithful  services  in  Vermont  have 
caused  his  memory  to  be  held  in  veneration  by  every 
Catholic  within  her  borders. 

In  July,  1846,  Mr.  William  H.  Hoyt  and  his  family 
embraced  the  Catholic  faith.  He  had  been  for  some 
years  the  Protestant  Episcopal  clergyman  of  St.  Al- 
bans, and  was  very  much  respected  and  beloved. 

In  June,  1847,  RCV-  George  A.  Hamilton  came  to 
St.  Albans,  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  Catholic 
congregation  until  January,  1850,  when  he  was  re- 
moved to  Milford,  Mass.,  and  subsequently  to  Charles- 
town,  where  he  has  since  erected,  on  the  summit  of 
Bunker  Hill,  one  of  the  finest  church  edifices  in  New 
England.  During  the  period  of  his  residence  at  St. 
Albans  his  flock  was  largely  increased  by  the  immi- 
gration of  many  from  other  parts  of  the  State  and 
from  foreign  lands,  and  by  the  conversion  of  a  num- 
ber of  Protestants  to  the  Catholic  faith,  among  whom 
may  be  mentioned  the  late  G.  G.  Smith  and  his  fam- 
ily;  Hon.  L.  B.  Hunt,  with  his  wife,  and,  at  a  later 
period,  his  second  wife,  with  her  daughter ;  B.  H. 
Smalley,  Esq.,  a  well-known  lawyer  of  Franklin 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTON.  249 

County,  with  his  sister,  Miss  Laura  P.  Smalley,  and 
his  whole  family,  as  well  as  his  mother-in-law,  Mrs. 
Cynthia  Penniman,  widow  of  the  late  Dr.  Jabez 
Penniman,  of  Colchester,  and  whose  first  husband 
was  E.  Marvin,  son  of  Dr.  Ebenezer  Marvin,  of 
Franklin. 

In  May,  1848,  Rev.  Henry  Lennon,  but  just  or- 
dained to  the  priesthood,  came  to  St.  Albans,  and 
remained  a  few  months,  assisting  Father  Hamilton. 
The  climate  of  Vermont  proving  prejudicial  to  his 
health,  he  returned  to  Boston,  and  was  soon  after 
stationed  at  Newburyport,  Mass.,  where  his  labors 
proved  eminently  successful.  He  was  a  young  cler- 
gyman of  extraordinary  acquirements  and  eloquence. 

In  1848,  a  lot  of  land,  with  a  dwelling-house,  barn, 
and  orchard  upon  it,  was  procured  for  the  Catholics 
of  St.  Albans,  as  a  site  for  the  church  edifice  which 
they  had  in  contemplation  to  erect.  The  dwelling- 
house  stood  where  the  church  is  now  located.  It 
was  removed  to  the  present  location  of  the  priest's 
residence,  and  fitted  up  to  serve  as  a  temporary 
church  while  the  new  one  was  in  the  course  of  erec- 
tion, and  afterwai'ds  changed  to  a  dwelling-house 
again  ;  after  which  time  it  was  occupied  as  the  res- 
idence of  the  priest,  until  the  present  building  was 
erected  in  its  stead.  The  corner-stone  of  the  pro- 
posed new  church  was  laid  in  August,  1849,  by 
Bishop  McClosky,  then  of  Albany,  N.  Y.,  now 
Archbishop  of  New  York. 

When,  in  January,  1850,  Rev.  Fr.  Hamilton  left 
Vermont,  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  T.  Shahan,  who 


250  SKETCHES,    ETC, 

had  been  admitted  to  the  priesthood  but  a  short  time 
previously,  and  who  left  in  August  of  the  same  year, 
Rev.  E.  McGowan  taking  his  place  at  St.  Albans. 

Since  the  erection  of  Vermont  into  a  See,  Bishop 
De  Goesbriand  has  seen  the  church  edifice  of  St. 
Albans  completed  and  dedicated  to  God,  and  placed 
under  the  auspices  of  Mary  Immaculate. 

The  amiable  writer  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
the  above  particulars  of  the  establishment  of  the 
church  at  St.  Albans,  herself,  by  the  grace  of  God,  a 
convert  to  Catholicity,  concludes  her  interesting  re- 
port by  observing  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  con- 
gregation which  assemble  in  this  place  is  composed 
of  young  people,  —  descendants  of  Catholics  from 
abroad,  —  who  were  born  and  brought  up  on  the  soil, 
and  who  will  compare  very  favorably  with  any  class 
descended  from  Americans  for  native  intelligence, 
education,  industry,  morality,  and  piety,  while  in 
physical  power  and  endurance  they  are  greatly  su- 
perior. The  bitter  prejudices,  created  and  fostered 
by  the  rancorous  partisans  of  the  most  un-American. 
of  all  our  parties,  which  styled  itself,  par  excellence, 
the  American  party,  have  been  proved  to  be  cruelly 
unjust,  and  the  experience  of  the  country  during  the 
past  war  has  abundantly  demonstrated  that  the  for- 
eign Catholic  population,  and  their  descendants,  so 
far  from  forming  a  dangerous  element  in  our  society, 
are,  in  fact,  among  its  best  and  most  reliable  safe- 
guards. Instructed  by  a  clergy  who  abstain  from  all 
interference  in  political  matters,  except  to  admonish 
their  people  diligently  of  their  duty  to  be  subject  to 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTON.  251 

their  rulers  in  all  obedience ;  taught  by  the  bitter 
experiences  of  oppression  abroad  the  value  of  free 
and  liberal  institutions  here,  and  unbiassed  by  the 
temptations  of  ambition,  —  which,  unfortunately,  lure 
too  many  of  our  fellow-citizens  from  the  paths  of 
rectitude  and  duty,  in  quest  of  office,  —  they  are  not 
to  be  outdone  by  any  class  in  the  practice  of  the 
social  and  domestic  virtues,  or  in  the  exercise  of  true 
patriotism. 

This  persuasion,  —  the  Catholic,  —  writes  Thomp- 
son, in  his  turn,  a  candid  Protestant  author  of  Ver- 
mont, with  the  exception  of  a  few  native  con- 
verts, owes  its  astonishing  increase  to  the  annual 
immigration  that  crosses  the  Atlantic  from  the  mother 
country.  When  they  first  arrive,  they  are  exposed  to 
that  prejudice  and  obloquy  which  invariably  attend  a 
stranger  in  a  foreign  land ;  but  the  good  sense  and 
discrimination  of  the  Americans  soon  discover  them 
to  be  a  sober,  industrious,  and  hard-laboring  people, 
who,  having  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  persecution 
at  home,  come  prepared  to  appreciate  and  sustain 
the  free  laws  and  institutions  of  our  republic.  The 
greatest  part  of  them  have  embarked  upon  the  cur- 
rent of  temperance,  and  are  most  faithful  observers 
of  the  pledge.  Many  of  them  have  purchased  farms 
in  different  parts  of  the  State,  where  they  are  doing 
well,  are  accumulating  property,  and  making  an  im- 
portant addition  to  the  population  and  strength  of  the 
country. 

Before  leaving  the  pleasant  and  flourishing  village 
of  St.  Albans,  we  must  invite  the  reader,  says  the 


252  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Gazetteer,  to  look  into  its  cemetery.  There,  not  far 
from  the  entrance,  stand  three  headstones  in  a  line, 
large  and  white,  with  a  garland  and  cross  upon  the 
marble,  —  the  graves  of  three  sisters,  whose  mem- 
ories have  been  embalmed  in  that  interesting  volume 
of  Mrs.  Smalley,  "  The  Young  Converts,  or  the 
Three  Sisters." 

Debbie,  Helen,  and  Anna  Barlow  were  the  daugh- 
ters of  Hon.  Bradley  Barlow,  a  man  of  wealth  and 
influence  in  the  county.  Debbie  reads  a  book  that 
leads  to  the  investigation  of  the  grave  claims  of 
Catholic  theology,  becomes  the  earnest  young  con- 
vert, whom  nothing  can  turn  back,  goes  straight  for- 
ward on  ;  beautiful  Helen  follows  her  serene,  perse- 
vering steps,  and  Anna  follows  Helen.  The  three 
are  as  sisters  on  the  forehead  of  the  morning.  As 
the  earliest  sister-cluster  of  flowers  of  the  Catholic 
faith  in  Vermont,  these  young  lives  have  an  interest, 
religious  and  historical,  as  one  by  one  they  transmute 
and  pass  away,  as  seen  on  the  pages  of  the  pleasing 
book  referred  to  above. 

A  little  farther  on  is  the  grave  of  the  Smith  sisters. 
Mr.  G.  G.  Smith  and  wife,  and  five  children,  were 
received  into  the  Catholic  Church  about  1848.  They 
had  previously  buried  their  three  eldest  children 
while  very  young,  and  soon  after  they  laid  one  of  the 
remaining  five  here.  Mr.  Smith  died  next,  leaving 
his  wife,  two  sons,  and  two  daughters,  Frances  and 
Sarah.  Sarah  first  began  to  show  symptoms  of  de- 
cline. The  gentle  Frances,  says  her  biographer,  as 
she  had  done  all  her  sweet  life,  followed  Sarah, 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTON.  253 

Sarah  keeping  about  the  same  distance  in  advance  ; 
but  as  she  entered  every  lane  that  leads  down  the 
dark  valley,  she  looked  back  for  Frances,  and  Fran- 
ces desired  to  overtake  Sarah.  It  seemed  they  could 
not  be  separated,  and  both  so  desired  to  go  together 
to  God.  It  is  said  they  asked  it,  in  their  communions 
and  their  prayers,  if  such  was  pleasing  to  their  heav- 
enly Father.  It  was  a  sight  that  interested  all  around 
— '-two  lovely  village  girls,  who  had  grown  up  in  their 
midst  into  young  womanhood,  fading,  as  a  double 
rainbow  in  a  summer  sky.  A  few  weeks  before  they 
died,  a  young  lady  friend,  soon  to  be  married,  brought 
in  her  trousseau,  to  let  these  sisters  see  it.  They  had 
been  her  young  friends  and  schoolmates.  These  dear 
sisters  looked  at  the  rich  dress  stuffs,  the  beautiful 
lace  work,  the  lovely  flowers.  They  pronounced 
everything  pretty,  very  pretty,  beautiful.  It  was 
sweet  to  see  what  an  artless  interest  they  took  in  it 
all.  But  when  they  had  examined  and  innocently 
enjoyed  all,  said  Frances,  turning,  with  a  bright 
smile,  to  Sarah,  "  But,  Sada,  we  wouldn't  exchange 
with  her  for  the  world;  would  we?"  "  O,  no," 
said  Sarah,  the  same  bright  look  communicated  to 
her  face.  It  was  thought  Frances  might  yet  live 
some  days  when  Sarah  was  taken  in  her  agony. 
Frances,  who  at  once  desired  to  be  brought  to  her 
room,  sat  supported  by  her  bedside,  and  encouraged 
her.  Such  was  her  love.  She  was  jealous  for  her 
sister,  lest  she  should,  in  the  greatness  of  her  suffer- 
ings, by  but  one  moment's  impatience  dim  the 
brightness  of  her  sacrifice.  It  was  a  tender  dying 


254  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

bed,  upon  which  one  sister  lay  in  the  last  struggle, 
and  by  which  another  sat,  that  light  in  her  eyes,  and 
whiteness  in  her  face  —  she  was  sure  to  go  soon. 

Sarah  died  about  midnight.  Frances  was  carried 
back  to  her  room,  and  died  at  ten  o'clock  the  next 
morning.  It  was  talked,  among  the  Catholics,  that 
Sarah,  upon  first  entering  the  spirit  world,  had  be- 
sought this  favor.  They  were  buried  in  one  grave, 
and  one  coffin.  Robed  in  blue  silk,  they  lay  within 
each  other's  arms,  in  the  double  casket,  the  hair  of 
Frances,  rich  and  sun-htied,  gathered  back  from  her 
gleaming  white  forehead,  scarcely  more  serene  than 
in  life.  Sarah,  who  had  had  more  changes  and 
beauty,  nestled  with  her  face  towards  her  sister,  now 
very  still  and  white.  It  was,  perhaps,  the  most  in- 
teresting picture  of  death  the  village  had  ever  wit- 
nessed—  two  young  sisters,  between  the  ages  of 
nineteen  and  twenty-two.  Both  had,  in  dying,  re- 
ceived the  sacraments  of  their  religion.  The  Bishop 
of  the  diocese,  who  was  present  at  their  funeral, 
spoke  of  these  young  women  as  having  given  all 
their  talents  alwavs  to  the  Church,  —  by  their  voices 
having  assisted  in  the  choir,  and  Frances  as  organist. 
They  died  in  the  summer  of  1866. 

MISSIONS  CONNECTED  WITH  ST.  ALBANS.  —  When 
Rev.  Fr.  Ivers  had  charge  at  St.  Albans,  there  were, 
according  to  his  report,  at  Berkshire  and  vicinity, 
about  one  hundred  members  of  the  Church  ;  at  Troy 
and  neighborhood,  about  the  same  number ;  and  at 
St.  Johnsbury,  Peacham,  and  Danville,  about  eighty. 


DIOCESE  OF  BURLINGTON.  255 

CHURCH  AT  MIDDLEBURY. 

Soon  after  the  appointment  of  Rev.  Fr.  O'Calla- 
ghan  to  look  after  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  faithful 
throughout  the  State,  he  visited  Middlebury,  and  had 
divine  service  in  some  one  of  the  most  convenient 
houses  of  the  infant  congregation.  These  his  visits 
were  made  as  often  as  circumstances  permitted,  till 
the  arrival  of  Rev.  James  Walsh,  in  1834,  a*  which 
time  the  State  was  divided  into  two  distinct  missions. 
John  B.  Daly,  in  1837,  having  been  appointed  suc- 
cessor to  Fr.  Walsh,  and  the  congregation  at  Middle- 
bury  having  so  far  increased  in  numbers  as  to  war- 
rant the  undertaking,  erected,  in  1839,  a  neat  brick 
church  edifice,  measuring  sixty  by  forty  feet,  in  which 
he  continued  to  officiate  till,  in  1853,  the  State  was 
erected  into  an  Episcopal  See. 


CHURCH  AT  CASTLETON. 

Few  were  the  churches  in  Vermont  previous  to  the 
consecration  of  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Goesbriand.  At 
Castleton,  a  private  dwelling  of  eighteen  by  thirty 
feet,  with  a  small  lot  of  land  connected  with  it,  had 
been  secured  as  early  as  1837,  which  served  as  a 
temporary  chapel  for  the  infant  congregation  at  the 
time. 

Rev.  Father  Daly,  in  the  report  of  his   missions, 


256  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

states  that  at  Brandon,  Pittsford,  Shrewsbury,  Rut- 
land, and  Wallingford,  there  were  about  four  hundred 
Catholics ;  and  about  an  equal  number  scattered  be- 
tween Woodstock,  Plymouth,  Windsor,  and  Rock- 
ingham,  and  at  Bennington  one  hundred  and  fifty. 


CHURCH  AT  SWANTON. 

Apart  from  the  traditional  story  of  a  church  having 
been  erected,  over  a  century  ago,  at  the  former  Indian 
village  on  the  Highgate  bank  of  the  Missisquoi 
River,  on  land  now  improved  by  A.  H.  Brooks, 
where  relics  of  a  religious  character  have  been  from 
time  to  time  turned  up  by  the  plough,  some  of  which 
we  have  seen,  and  in  connection  with  the  probable 
site  of  the  church,  the  foundations  of  which  were 
formerly  more  distinct  than  at  present,  —  a  few  stones 
of  which  we  gather,  as  a  pious  memento,  —  the  Sac- 
rifice of  Mass  offered  at  a  later  period  by  Rev.  Father 
McGillon,  of  Plattsburgh,  was  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
James  McNally,  in  the  village  of  Swanton. 

Encouraged  by  this  visit  of  a  clergyman  among 
them,  the  faithful,  small  as  were  their  numbers,  con- 
cluded to  build  a  church,  where  they  might  assemble 
on  Sundays  for  prayer  and  mutual  edification,  and  in 
the  fond  hope  that  at  some  future  day  their  Bishop 
would  be  enabled  to  provide  them,  at  least  occasion- 
ally, with  the  services  of  a  clergyman.  Messrs. 
James  and  Henry  McNally,  Charles  O'Kane,  Fred- 


DIOCESE    OF    BURLINGTON.  257 

erick  Arnault,  James  Birney,  and  a  few  others,  were 
the  prime  movers  in  this  enterprise.  Mr.  James 
McNally  gave  land  for  the  purpose,  and  a  portion  of 
the  materials,  while  the  rest  contributed  equally, 
according  to  their  means,  and  in  a  few  months,  to 
their  delight,  a  neat  little  brick  edifice  of  thirty  by 
forty  feet  was  erected.  Here,  in  1836,  Rev.  Fr. 
O'Callaghan  offered  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  Mass,  which 
he,  as  circumstances  permitted,  continued  to  do  till 
the  appointment  of  other  clergymen.  Here,  Rev. 
Messrs.  Le  Claire,  Waters,  Ivers,  and  Hamilton  offi- 
ciated ;  and  the  last-mentioned  Reverend  Father, 
seeing  the  church  eventually  finished  and  beautified, 
dedicated  it  to  God,  and  assigned  to  it  the  name  of 
the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

This  building,  to  the  deep  regret  of  the  congrega- 
tion, was,  on  the  Eve  of  Christmas,  1858,  accidentally 
burned  down  from  an  overheated  stove,  unattended, 
in  the  vestry.  The  pastor,  however,  Rev.  J.  L.  Cam, 
who  had  charge  of  the  congregation  at  the  time, 
numbering  five  hundred  souls,  soon  commenced  an- 
other, the  present  beautifully-proportioned  Gothic 
structure,  which  is  also  of  brick,  seventy-two  by  forty 
feet,  which,  since  its  completion,  and  contracts  set- 
tled, has  been  consecrated,  and,  like  the  first  little 
edifice,  bears  the  title  of  the  Nativity  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin. 

While  small  was  thus  the  grain  of  mustard-seed 
scattered  over  the  soil  of  Vermont  but  a  few  years 
ago,  consoling  must  it  be,  as  well  as  cheering  to  the 

'7 


258  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

heart  of  its  first  Bishop,  and  to  every  fond  lover  of 
Holy  Church,  to  contemplate  the  spread  of  Cath- 
olicity, as  seen  in  the  subjoined  brief  summary  of  the 
present  state  of  the  Diocese,  eighteen  years  from  its 
establishment,  in  which  there  are,  besides  its  splendid 
Gothic  Cathedral  at  Burlington,  near  fifty  churches, 
twenty-eight  priests,  and  ten  clerical  students ;  its 
orphan  asylum,  and  many  little  ones  so  maternally 
cared  for ;  its  academies,  its  select  schools,  its  free 
schools,  and  its  thirty-four  thousand  Catholic  pop- 
ulation ! 

While  it  is  our  province  to  sketch  the  early  state 
of  events,  cheering  will  be  the  labor  of  the  ecclesias- 
tical historian  who,  fifty  years  hence,  will  be  called 
upon  to  write  the  progress  of  Catholicity  in  the  Dio- 
cese of  Burlington,  the  State  of  Vermont. 


DIOCESE   OF  PORTLAND, 

EMBRACING  THE  STATES  OF  MAINE  AND  NEW 
HAMPSHIRE. 

THIS  Diocese  was  established  in  1855.  Right  Rev. 
Dr.  D.  W.  BACON,  its  first  Bishop,  was  consecrated 
the  22d  of  April,  the  same  year. 

Having  already  spoken  of  the  early  Missionaries 
and  their  apostolic  labors  among  the  aborigines  of 
Maine,  we  will  here  introduce  an  account  of  the  first 
visit  made  to  this  part  of  his  diocese,  by  the  successor 
of  Bishop  De  Cheverus,  Right  Rev.  Dr.  Fen  wick  ; 
and  as  amidst  his  manifold  and  arduous  labors  he 
found  time  to  minute  in  his  journal,  day  by  day,  from 
the  time  he  came  to  Boston  until  the  fourth  day  before 
his  death,  such  incidents  as  he  deemed  worthy  of 
note,  and  as  the  reader  cannot  be  otherwise  than 
interested  in  all  that  relates  to  the  religious  improve- 
ments of  those  children  of  the  forest,  who  are  so  fast 
disappearing  from  among  us,  we  will  quote  the  Bish- 
op's manuscript  for  July,  1827,  nearly  word  for  word. 

"  I  had  scarcely  landed,"  says  the  Bishop,  at  his 
arrival  at  Eastport,  "  when  I  saw  a  number  of  Indians, 
of  both  sexes  of  the  Passamaquoddy  tribe,  who  had 
just  left  their  canoes,  and  were  going  up  to  one  of  the 

259 


26O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

stores  to  trade.  A  perfect  stranger  in  the  town,  I 
accosted  one  of  the  Indians,  and  requested  him  to 
show  me  the  way.  He  paid  no  attention  to  my  re- 
quest, and  proceeded  on.  I  then  addressed  myself  to 
another,  whom  I  perceived  just  crossing  the  street. 
He  stopped  for  a  while,  looked  steadfastly  at  me,  then 
shook  his  head  and  left  me.  I  soon  recollected  that 
I  had  seen  at  Boston,  the  year  before,  an  Indian  of 
the  tribe,  whose  name  was  Saco-Bason — James  Vin- 
cent. I  made  up  to  a  group  of  Indians,  and  inquired 
whether  he  had  come  to  town.  One  of  them  an- 
swered in  broken  English,  and  informed  me  he  had, 
and  would  go  and  look  for  him.  He  returned  soon 
after  with  Saco-Bason,  who  immediately  recognized 
me.  The  news  of  my  arrival  soon  spread  through 
the  town.  I  informed  Saco-Bason  that  my  intention 
was  to  repair  to  Pleasant  Point,  their  village,  without 
delay,  and  wished  him  to  acquaint  his  brethren  with 
it.  He  promised  me  to  notify  them,  and  stated  that 
he  would  himself  shortly  return  home,  and  in  the 
afternoon  come  again  with  several  canoes  to  conduct 
me  to  it.  He  then  led  me  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Jere- 
miah Kelly,  a  respectable  Catholic  of  Eastport,  where 
I  found  Rev.  Mr.  Ffrench,  whom  I  had  sent  to  this 
town  the  preceding  year.  After  making  some  in- 
quiry into  the  state  of  religion  at  Eastport  and  the 
adjoining  country,  I  requested  him  to  accompany  me 
to  Pleasant  Point,  whither  it  was  my  intention  to  pro- 
ceed immediately,  in  order  to  assist  me  in  preparing 
the  Indians  and  their  children  for  the  Sacrament  of 
Confirmation,  and  of  the  Holy  Eucharist.  In  the 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  261 

afternoon,  as  it  had  been  arranged,  the  Indians,  who 
were  to  conduct  me  to  their  village,  arrived,  in  four 
bark  canoes,  with  the  Lieutenant  Governor  at  their 
head.  They  were  dressed  in  full  costume  of  their 
nation,  and  in  the  gayest  apparel.  On  entering  the 
parlor,  each  of  them  alternately  advanced  and  kissed 
my  hand  respectfully,  and  after  a  short  conversation 
invited  me  to  their  canoes.  The  afternoon  was  pleas- 
ant, and  we  set  out.  The  distance  from  Eastport  to 
Pleasant  Point  does  not  exceed  six  or  seven  miles. 
On  reaching  the  wharf,  I  was  invited  to  take  my  seat 
in  the  middle  of  a  large  and  beautiful  canoe,  which 
was  paddled  by  Saco-Bason  in  front  and  another 
Indian  in  the  rear.  Rev.  Mr.  Ffrench,  with  two 
Indians,  occupied  another  canoe.  Our  baggage  was 
conveyed  in  the  two  remaining  ones,  which  followed 
behind.  We  had  scarcely  put  off  from  shore,  when 
each  of  the  Indians  struck  fire  and  lighted  his  pipe  ; 
a  matter,  it  would  seem,  quite  indispensable  with 
them,  for  so  great  is  their  attachment  to  the  pipe, 
that  they  would  sooner,  on  some  occasions,  as  they 
acknowledged  to  me,  go  without  their  dinner.  When 
we  had  reached  a  point  of  land  from  which  their 
village  could  be  seen,  a  salute  was  fired  with  their 
carabines,  which  was  answered  from  the  village  by  a 
discharge  as  well  of  carabines  as  of  a  six-pounder, 
which  they  had  mounted  for  the  purpose  of  economy. 
A  flag,  bearing  a  red  cross,  on  a  white  ground,  was 
also  hoisted.  This  firing  continued  without  intermis- 
sion until  the  canoes  reached  the  shore.  On  arriving, 
the  whole  population  flocked  to  the  landing,  with  the 


262  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Governor,  a  venerable  old  man,  at  their  head,  to 
welcome  me.  He  addressed  me  in  tolerable  good 
French,  which  he  must  have  learnt  in  Canada,  and 
expressed  the  liveliest  joy  at  seeing  once  more  a 
Bishop  before  he  died.  He  knelt  down,  and  received 
my  blessing,  which  I  also  gave  to  all  the  others  who 
had  equally  placed  themselves  on  their  knees  to  re- 
ceive it. 

"  From  the  landing  we  proceeded  to  the  church, 
where,  after  offering  up  a  prayer,  I  expressed  to  them 
my  happiness  at  being  among  them  for  the  purpose 
of  affording  them  the  benefits  of  their  religion.  I 
then  caused  all  the  children  above  eight  years  of  age, 
as  well  as  those  among  the  adults,  who  had  not  yet 
been  confirmed,  to  be  paraded  before  me,  and  in- 
quiry to  be  made  how  many  among  them  were  suffi- 
ciently instructed  to  be  admitted  to  the  Sacrament  of 
Confirmation.  I  had  already  been  apprised  that  Rev. 
Mr.  Ffrench  had  made  frequent  visits  during  the  last 
two  months,  and  had  during  that  time  taken  pains  to 
instruct  them.  I  accordingly  directed  him  to  assist 
me  in  hearing  the  confessions  of  all  those  whom  ne 
should  deem  sufficiently  instructed,  and  in  otherwise 
preparing  them  for  confirmation,  which  I  intended  to 
confer  the  following  day. 

"  Sunday,  July  I5th,  I  said  mass  in  the  Indian 
church  at  eight  o'clock ;  all  the  Passamaquoddy's 
were  present.  At  eleven  o'clock  a  solemn  procession 
was  formed  to  the  church,  which  was  composed  of 
the  whole  tribe.  As  soon  as  it  began  to  move,  pre- 
ceded by  the  cross  bearer,  the  Indians  who  followed 


DIOCESE   OF    PORTLAND.  263 

in  it  intoned  a  hymn  in  their  own  language,  which 
was  sung  with  enthusiasm  by  all  the  others.  When 
it  had  arrived  at  the  church,  Rev.  Mr.  Ffrench  began 
the  Asperges.  Mass  was  afterwards  sang  according 
to  the  notes  of  M.  Dumont  in  his  Missa-regia,  with 
a  precision  which  would  have  done  honor  to  many 
of  the  choirs  of  Europe. 

"  A  number  of  Protestants  from  Eastport  and  the 
adjacent  country  were  present,  attracted  by  the  arrival 
of  the  Bishop.  They  conducted  themselves  with 
great  propriety  in  the  church  ;  indeed,  the  behavior 
of  the  Indians  themselves  in  the  house  of  God  was 
well  calculated  to  inspire  respect,  as  they  never  looked 
either  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  while  there,  and  dur- 
ing the  whole  time  of  the  celebration  of  the  divine 
mysteries  they  appeared  absorbed  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  what  passed  before  them  at  the  altar.  At  the 
end  of  mass  I  delivered  a  discourse  to  the  Protestants 
present,  in  which  I  expounded  the  principal  mysteries 
of  our  holy  religion,  and  pointed  out  its  superior 
excellence  over  other  religions.  The  leading  points 
of  my  discourse  I  caused  to  be  interpreted  to  the 
Indians  who  did  not  understand  English.  I  after- 
wards addressed  myself  particularly  to  the  young 
Indians  and  those  adults  who  were  about  to  be  con- 
firmed, and  endeavored  to  impress  upon  them  the 
dispositions  essentially  requisite  to  receive  Confirma- 
tion worthily  ;  and  at  length  proceeded  to  administer 
this  sacrament  to  all  those  who  were  sufficiently  in- 
structed and  prepared  to  receive  it ;  several  of  them 
had  already  been  admitted  to  holy  communion  at  the 


264  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

eaiiy  mass  in  the  morning.  After  the  solemn  bene- 
diction, which  I  gave  them  at  the  conclusion,  we  left 
the  church  in  the  same  order  in  which  we  had  come, 
and  returned  to  the  village.  In  the  afternoon,  at  four 
o'clock,  Vespers  were  sung,  in  which  the  Indians 
acquitted  themselves  fully  as  well  as  in  the  forenoon, 
thanks  to  the  good  Missionary,  their  former  pastor, 
who  had  so  well  instructed  them.  After  vespers  they 
recited  their  ordinary  prayefs  for  the  evening,  and 
then  retired  quietly  to  their  cabins. 

"July  1 6th.  I  again  said  mass  at  eight  o'clock, 
after  which  we  repaired,  in  procession,  to  the  bury- 
ing-ground,  where  I  performed  the  usual  service  on 
the  graves  of  those  who  had  departed  this  life  since 
the  last  visit  of  a  priest. 

"July  1 7th.  I  said  mass  at  seven  o'clock;  all  the 
Indians  assisted  at  it.  I  again  gave  confirmation  to 
those  who  had  hitherto  not  been  able  to  prepare  for 
it,  and  among  others  to  the  son  of  an  Indian  named 
Stanislaus.  So  great  was  the  desire  of  this  good 
Indian  to  have  his  son  confirmed,  although  confined 
to  his  bed  at  home  by  a  violent  fever,  he,  with  the  aid 
of  some  of  his  friends,  conveyed  the  bed,  with  the 
youth  sixteen  years  lying  thereon,  to  the  church  in 
the  midst  of  the  ceremony.  His  ardent  zeal  edified 
me ;  but  I  was  fearful  that  such  an  exertion,  with  the 
exposure,  might  prove  finally  prejudicial  to  the  youth. 
He  had,  however,  received  the  last  sacraments  the 
morning  before,  and  was  well  disposed.  I  confirmed 
him  with  the  others,  to  the  very  great  joy  of  his 
father.  After  breakfast,  which  consisted  of  the  or- 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  265 

dinary  diet  of  the  Indians,  I  took  the  census  of  the 
tribe,  and  found  that  the  entire  population  amounted 
to  four  hundred  and  fifty  souls.  About  fifteen  or 
twenty  individuals  were  said  to  be  absent  at  the  time. 

"  In  the  afternoon  I  visited  again  the  Indians  in 
their  cabins,  and  spent  a  little  longer  time  with  them, 
especially  with  the  old  and  infirm.  I  went  also  to 
see  the  sick  youth  whom  I  had  confirmed  in  the 
morning,  and  whom  I  found  extremely  low,  his  fever 
having  considerably  increased.  I  conversed  a  short 
time  with  him,  and  found  him  in  the  happiest  dis- 
positions. As  he  had  received  all  the  sacraments,  I 
had  nothing  more  to  do  than  exhort  him  to  submit 
with  patience  to  the  will  of  God. 

"July  1 8th.  I  said  mass  at  six  o'clock.  The  whole 
tribe  attended  as  on  Sunday.  Those  Indians  who 
composed  the  choir  sang  during  the  whole  time  of 
the  celebration  a  number  of  hymns  in  their  tongue. 
I  addressed  them  in  a  short  discourse,  through  their 
interpreter,  to  remain  faithful  to  their  duties  to  God, 
their  neighbors,  and  to  themselves,  and  especially  to 
remain  constantly  attached  to  their  holy  religion,  and 
live  in  union  and  charity  with  one  another.  I  in- 
formed them  that  it  was  my  intention  to  leave  them 
to-day,  in  order  to  go  to  their  brethren,  the  Penob- 
scots,  for  whom  I  felt  the  same  solicitude,  and  re- 
quested them  to  offer  up  their  prayers  to  God  for  the 
success  of  my  voyage." 

At  Old  Town,  the  residence  of  the  Penobscot  tribe, 
the  Bishop  said  mass,  preached,  and  confirmed  those 


266  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

who  had  been  prepared  by  Rev.  Father  Barber,  S.  J., 
who  was  then  with  them. 

The  Bishop,  after  his  first  visit  to  these  devoted 
children  of  the  forest,  became  most  anxious  to  procure 
a  Missionary  who  would  reside  among  them,  and  as 
English  was  not  needed,  he  appealed  to  the  Associa- 
tion for  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith.* 

While  awaiting  an  answer  to  his  earnest  petition, 
the  author  of  these  Sketches,  having  been  ordained, 
was  sent  among  them,  and  he  would  add  one  or  two 
instances  of  his  reminiscences  in  illustration  of  the 
religious  habits,  as  well  as  of  the  faith  and  piety,  of 
these  devoted  Christians. 

As  winter  approaches,  it  is  customary  with  the  In- 
dians, before  entering  the  forest  in  pursuit  of  game, 
to  provide  themselves  with  calendars,  or  a  species 
of  almanac,  which  have  been  previously  prepared, 
wherein  the  days  of  the  week,  the  Sundays,  and  what- 
ever festivals  are  likelv  to  occur  before  their  return 
in  the  spring,  are  noted.  A  pin-mark  denotes  the  day 
and  date  of  their  departure  from  the  village,  and  this 
being  moved  forward  daily,  they  know,  in  the  depth 
of  the  forest,  each  day  of  the  week  and  month,  and 
whatever  festival  of  obligation  may  occur,  as  well  as 
those  who  hear  it  announced  from  the  sanctuary 
every  Sunday.  As  Saturday,  or  the  vigil  of  any  fes- 
tival of  obligation  approaches,  they  prepare  their 
encampment,  provide  fuel,  and  make  all  other  neces- 
sary arrangements  preparatory  for  sanctifying  the 

*  See  his  interesting  letter,  Annales,  v.  447-480. 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  267 

approaching  great  day,  which  our  Lord  and  His 
Church  command  to  be  kept  holy.  To  fell  a  tree 
or  chop  wood,  to  hunt  or  use  the  rifle,  should  a 
moose,  bear,  or  deer  pass  their  camp  on  such  days, 
would  be  considered  derogatory  to  their  Christian 
duty,  a  burden  on  their  conscience,  and  be  recalled 
on  the  next  occasion  of  confession.  At  a  given  sig- 
nal, all  who  are  of  the  party  in  the  forest  assemble 
for  prayer,  at  which  they  sing  in  unison  the  Kyrie, 
Gloria,  Credo,  Sanctus,  and  Agnus,  of  the  Missa- 
regia,  hymns,  and  so  forth.  Upon  their  return  home 
in  the  spring  of  the  year,  they  all,  with  true  Christian 
piety,  approach  the  sacraments  of  Penance  and  the 
Eucharist,  seeking  forgiveness  for  any  faults  com- 
mitted during  their  absence,  and  the  divine  assistance 
to  persevere  in  their  good  resolutions. 

Among  other  edifying  traits  that  might  be  men- 
tioned, illustrating  the  practical  idea  they  have  of  sin 
in  general,  which  they  understand,  as  taught  in  their 
catechism,  to  be  any  violation  or  transgression  of  the 
law  of  God,  in  thought,  word,  or  deed,  we  will  men- 
tion one,  simple,  as  perhaps  it  may  be  considered  by 
some. 

Two  women,  towards  the  close  of  the  week,  were 
doing  up  their  family  washing  at  a  little  brook  which 
runs  through  the  village.  Something  rather  tart,  in- 
cidentally said  by  one,  roused  so  far  the  feelings  of 
the  other,  that,  on  the  spur  of  the  moment,  in  retalia- 
tion, she  gave  her  a  dash  of  the  towel  just  at  hand  ! 
Reflection  on  the  impropriety  of  what  they  had  done, 
as  not  unfrequently  happens,  came  afterwards.  The 


268  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

next  day  being  Sunday,  and  obligated  to  hear  mass, 
apprehensive  that  others,  and  perhaps  children,  had 
seen  or  heard  of  their  unchristian-like  behavior, 
neither  one  nor  the  other  would  enter  the  church,  — 
the  house  of  God,  —  but,  prompted  alike  by  remorse 
of  conscience,  they  prostrated  themselves  at  the  door, 
imploring  the  prayers  of  those  who  entered,  that  God 
would  pardon  any  scandal  or  bad  example  given. 

Parents  thus  solicitous  for  their  own  salvation, 
must  needs  be  blessed  in  their  children  ;  and  so,  in- 
deed, are  those  devoted  Christians  of  the  forest.  Not 
only  are  children  taught  their  morning,  as  well  as 
evening  prayers,  but  every  other  Christian  duty,  and 
evince  their  gratitude  for  all  favors  received  from  the 
Giver  of  all.  Often  is  a  little  one  seen  coming  out 
of  the  wigwam,  with  a  crust  of  bread  in  his  hand, 
but  never  is  he  seen  to  take  the  first  morsel,  nor  to 
dip  his  tiny  birch  bowl  into  the  spring,  without  hav- 
ing first  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  and  asked  God's 
blessing.  Such,  we  have  witnessed,  is  their  Chris- 
tian teaching,  faith,  and  morals. 

In  his  appeal  to  the  "  Association  for  the  Propaga- 
tion of  the  Faith,"  the  efforts  of  the  Bishop  were 
crowned  with  success.  Before  his  next  visit,  the 
Penobscots  had  a  resident  missionary,  and  showed 
how  much  good  they  had  gained  by  his  presence.  A 
beautiful  church,  with  its  towering  steeple,  and  a 
neat  parsonage,  had  replaced  Father  Romagne's  hut. 
The  cabins  of  the  Indians,  in  many  instances,  too, 
were  replaced  by  neatly-painted  cottages,  and  an  air 
of  comfort  pervaded  all  the  settlement.  After  ad- 


DIOCESE   OF   PORTLAND.  269 

ministering  Confirmation,  the  Bishop  dedicated  the 
church  in  honor  of  St.  Ann,  the  patroness  of  the 
tribe. 

Upon  the  arrival  of  the  missionaries,  Rev.  Messrs. 
Edmund  Demilier  and  Petithomme,  rinding  but  one 
Penobscot  able  to  speak  French,  they  commenced 
the  study  of  the  native  language,  Demilier  at  the 
villages,  Petithomme  in  their  winter  camp.  They 
continued  their  mission  with  great  profit,  and,  early 
in  1834,  the  Bishop,  in  possession  of  a  manuscript 
prayer-book  of  Fr.  Romagne,  had  it  printed,  and 
thus  facilitated  the  labors  of  the  missionary  school. 

Rev.  Fr.  Petithomme,  receiving  subsequently  an- 
other destination,  Fr.  Demilier  was  left  alone.  His 
study  of  the  language  was  most  successful.  He  was 
soon  able  to  confess  his  penitents  in  Abnaki,  and 
when  the  Bishop  next  visited  the  mission,  he  could 
not  withhold  the  expression  of  his  astonishment  at 
the  facility  with  which  the  Father  preached  in  his 
newly-acquired  language.  Turning  his  knowledge 
to  account,  Father  Demilier  drew  up  a  new  prayer- 
book,  and  translated  also  the  Quebec  catechism. 

Notwithstanding  the  insignificance  of  his  mission 
in  numbers,  Fr.  Demilier  devoted  himself  to  it  with- 
out a  murmur  till  his  death,  on  the  23d  of  July,  1843, 
when  his  flock  lost  a  kind  and  self-sacrificing  pastor. 

In  connection  with  what  has  been  said  of  the  Ab- 
naki, their  conversion,  faith,  and  piety,  and  the  devo- 
tedness  of  those  self-sacrificing  missionaries  who 
have  lived  or  died  among  them,  we  will  add  a  short 
account  of  the  monument  erected  to  that  illustrious 
martyred  priest,  Father  Rale. 


270  SKETCHES,    ETC. 


MEMORIAL  OF  REV.  FATHER  RALE. 

Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick  purchased  the  site  of 
the  ancient  village  where  once  stood  the  church  of 
this  illustrious  martyred  priest.  The  following  com- 
munication, written  about  the  time  the  monument  was 
erected,  August  23,  1833,  will  explain  the  event:  — 

"  The  ancient  village  of  Naurantsonak,  —  now 
called  Norridgewock,  —  that  is,  the  place  where  the 
Indian  village  of  this  name  formerly  stood,  is  situated 
on  the  Kennebec  River,  five  miles  above  the  present 
village  of  Norridgewock.  The  site  of  the  monument 
is  on  the  edge  of  the  town  of  Madison,  a  little  above, 
and  nearly  opposite  the  place  where  Sandy  River 
empties  into  the  Kennebec,  and  immediately  adjoin- 
ing Norridgewock.  This  ancient  Indian  village  was 
situated  on  a  beautiful  plain,  surrounded  by  high 
hills,  extending  a  quarter  of  a  mile  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  river,  and  as  far  as  the  bend.  The 
cabins  of  the  Indians  were  constructed  in  parallel 
lines  along  the  plain  running  north  and  south,  leav- 
ing a  common  road  on  the  bank  of  the  river  the 
whole  length  of  the  village,  and  having  besides  a 
street  two  hundred  feet  in  width,  running  between 
the  rows  of  cabins,  in  the  same  direction.  The 
church  was  erected  towards  the  southern  extremity, 
with  the  principal  entrance  on  the  street,  and  the 
altar  to  the  east.  The  residence  of  Father  Rale  ad- 
joined the  sacristy,  which  stood  also  to  the  east.  It 


DIOCESE   OF    PORTLAND.  271 

was  here  this  great  and  good  man  lived,  surrounded 
by  his  flock,  all  of  whom  he  had  converted  to  the 
faith  from  among  the  Abnaki  tribes  during  the  thirty 
odd  years  which  he  had  spent  among  them. 

"  The  lot  of  land  purchased  by  the  Bishop  for  the 
monument  includes  the  whole  space  formerly  occu- 
pied by  the  church,  with  the  sacristy,  and  the  res- 
idence of  Father  Rale.  It  consists  of  an  acre  of 
ground,  with  an  outlet,  of  sufficient  width  for  a  car- 
riage, to  the  main  county  road.  The  situation  is 
extremely  beautiful,  having  a  delightful  prospect,  as 
well  of  the  river  as  of  the  surrounding  country. 

"  The  Bishop  was  accompanied  to  the  spot  on  the 
morning  of  the  twenty-third,  by  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Ffrench,  of  Portland,  and  Conway,  of  Indian  Old 
Town,  who  came,  accompanied  with  eighteen  In- 
dians, to  assist  at  the  ceremony  on  this  memorable 
day,  the  anniversary  of  the  massacre  of  Father  Rale 
and  his  neophytes.  The  object  of  the  Bishop  was 
to  have  a  Solemn  Mass  celebrated  on  the  spot,  and  a 
funeral  service  performed  for  the  benefit  of  the  In- 
dians who  were  slain  on  this  day  in  the  year  seven- 
teen hundred  and  twenty-four. 

"  The  morning  opened  beautifully.  The  Bishop 
repaired  to  the  spot  at  nine  o'clock.  Already  an  im- 
mense multitude  had  assembled  from  the  adjacent 
country.  In  an  hour  after,  there  could  not  be  less 
than  five  thousand  persons  present.  The  roads  in 
every  direction  were  still  crowded  with  men,  women, 
and  children,  all  flocking  to  the  same  spot.  At  half 
past  ten  o'clock  the  service  began.  Rev.  Fr.  Ffrench 


272  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

was  appointed  to  celebrate  Mass,  the  Indians  to  per- 
form the  duty  of  the  Choir,  and  the  Bishop  was  the 
orator  on  the  occasion.  At  this  time  the  curiosity 
of  the  multitude  assembled  was  intense.  Some  as- 
cended the  trees  that  surrounded  the  Altar,  while 
others  pressed  forward,  regardless  of  every  barrier 
that  was  raised  before  them.  Others,  mounted  upon 
wagons  and  vehicles  of  every  name,  drove  their 
horses  into  the  ranks,  which  were  instantly  filled  by 
the  people  who  had  been  displaced,  in  spite  of  every 
remonstrance  of  the  proprietors.  Others,  again,  un- 
able to  see  over  the  immense  concourse  that  stood  in 
their  way,  which  now  formed  one  dense,  consolidated 
mass,  as  closely  wedged  as  ever  bricks  were  in  a 
brickkiln,  endeavored  to  climb  upon  the  backs  of 
those  outside,  that  thus  they  might  at  least  be  enabled 
to  see  something  of  what  was  passing  at  the  Altar. 
In  spite  of  every  annoyance  thus  occasioned  by  the 
extreme  anxiety  of  the  people  to  see,  Rev.  Fr.  Ffrench 
still  proceeded  with  the  celebration  of  the  Mass. 
The  Bishop  remained  during  all  this  time  in  the 
wicker  sacristy  which  had  been  constructed  immedi- 
ately adjoining  the  Altar",  waiting  for  the  end  of  the 
Gospel,  that  he  might  address  the  multitude.  In  the 
mean  time  one  of  the  trees,  into  which  too  many  had 
climbed,  gave  way,  when  half  a  dozen  individuals, 
who  had  ventured  too  high,  were  precipitated  into 
the  thickest  of  the  throng !  Happily  no  lives  were 
lost,  nor  was  the  least  injury  sustained  by  any  from 
the  falling  of  the  tree.  A  little  confusion,  however, 
as  may  be  conjectured,  was  produced  by  the  accident, 


DIOCESE    OF   PORTLAND.  273 

and  a  degree  of  anxiety  felt  for  the  fate  of  others  who 
were  similarly  situated.  The  greatest  annoyance  of 
any  that  was  experienced  occurred  on  the  sides  and 
rear  of  the  Altar.  Here  the  Reverend  officiating 
clergyman  had  much  to  do  to  keep  the  crowd  from 
pressing  too  near  him  on  his  right  and  left,  and  to 
prevent  their  pulling  the  boards  asunder  immediately 
in  front,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  a  better  view.  His 
voice  was  continually  heard,  reproving  and  remon- 
strating, but  all  in  vain.  The  crowd  became  at  every 
instant  more  and  more  dense,  from  the  continued 
fresh  arrival  of  others  from  the  country,  who  also 
endeavored  to  press  through  the  ranks,  in  order  to 
satisfy  their  curiosity. 

"  About  this  time  several  of  the  respectable  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  main- 
taining anything  like  order  so  long  as  the  Mass  was 
continued,  from  the  curiosity  which  it  excited,  to- 
gether with  the  singing  of  the  Indians,  came  forward 
and  requested  the  Bishop  to  advance  into  the  centre 
of  the  throng,  and  address  the  multitude.  The 
Bishop  immediately  assented  to  the  proposal,  and 
accordingly  presented  himself  before  the  people.  As 
soon  as  it  was  ascertained  that  the  time  for  the  dis- 
course had  arrived,  each  one  gave  away,  as  far  as  he 
could,  that  the  Bishop  might  pass  to  the  place  as- 
signed. Here  four  chairs  were  placed,  and  across 
these  two  wide  boards  were  laid,  so  as  to  form  a  kind 
of  platform  from  which  to  address  the  multitude. 

"  The  Bishop,  as  soon  as  he  had  ascended  this 
quasi  pulpit,  requested  those  who  were  near  him  to 
18 


274  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

seat  themselves  upon  the  grass,  that  those  who  were 
in  the  distance  might  have  a  better  opportunity  both 
of  seeing  and  hearing.  This  request  was  immedi- 
ately complied  with.  He  then  called  for  a  pole, 
which  he  observed  at  some  distance  on  the  ground, 
which  was  no  sooner  handed  to  him  than,  with  this 
supporting  himself,  he  commenced  his  discourse,  in 
a  slow  and  perfectly  composed  manner,  taking  for 
his  text  those  words  of  Ecclesiastes,  '  The  memory 
of  him  shall  not  depart  away,  and  his  name  shall  be 
in  request  from  generation  to  generation.  Nations 
shall  declare  his  wisdom,  and  the  Church  shall  show 
forth  his  praise.'  His  address  lasted  about  an  hour, 
during  which  the  greatest  attention  was  paid  by 
those  who  were  within  the  reach  of  his  voice.  Some 
who  were  in  the  distance  manifested  their  feelings  at 
not  being  able  to  get  within  hearing,  while  others,  in 
the  hope  that  the  voice  of  the  speaker  would  at  last 
reach  them,  kept  them  in  a  degree  of  order  to  the 
very  end. 

"As  soon  as  the  Bishop  had  concluded  his  dis- 
course, the  workmen  were  directed  to  proceed  with 
the  erection  of  the  monument.  The  base,  composed 
of  huge  blocks  of  granite,  had  been  already  con- 
structed, so  that  nothing  more  was  to  be  done  than  to 
raise  the  shaft,  which  consisted  of  one  prodigious 
block,  of  the  same  material,  and  to  place  it  upon  its 
base.  This  was  accomplished  in  about  two  hours, 
and  without  the  least  accident,  notwithstanding  the 
immense  crowd  who  pressed  around  during  its 
erection. 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  275 

"  This  beautiful  monument  was  erected  over  the 
very  grave  in  which  Father  Rale  was  interred,  and 
on  the  very  spot  where  the  Altar  formerly  stood  at 
which  he  had  so  often  celebrated  the  adorable  Sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass.  In  the  form  of  an  obelisk,  it  rose 
twenty  feet  from  the  ground,  surmounted  with  a 
beautiful  cross  of  the  best  wrought  iron,  three  feet  in 
height,  and  to  be  seen  a  great  distance." 


CHURCH  AT  EASTPORT. 

The  Bishop,  upon  his  arrival  at  Eastport,  after 
having  visited  the  Indians  of  Passamaquoddy  and 
Penobscot,  offered  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  Mass  at  the 
private  residence  of  Mr.  Kelly,  July  20,  1827.  In 
the  evening  of  the  same  day,  by  special  invitation, 
he  preached  in  the  meeting-house,  much  to  the  in- 
terest of  the  audience,  principally  Protestants,  and 
delight  of  the  Catholics,  to  eighteen  of  whom  he  had 
that  day  administered  Confirmation. 

The  church  at  Eastport,  measuring  thirty-two  by 
forty  feet,  was  erected  by  Rev.  Fr.  Ffrench,  in  the 
year  1828,  but  in  the  absence  of  funds,  was  not  com- 
pleted till  some  time  later.  It  was  subsequently  en- 
larged, during  the  pastorship  of  Rev.  Mr.  Kiernan, 
and  was  dedicated  and  placed  under  the  patronage 
of  St.  Joseph  at  the  visit  of  the  Bishop  in  July,  1835, 
at  which  time  he  administered  the  Sacrament  of  Con- 
firmation to  fifty-seven  children  and  adults. 


276  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Rev.  J.  B.  McMahon,  who,  in  1841,  had  charge, 
and  attended  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  Catholics  at 
Eastport  and  neighboring  missions,  states  in  his  re- 
port that  at  Eastport  there  were  three  hundred  and 
twenty-two  souls ;  Lubec  and  its  environs,  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety-five ;  East  Machias,  sixty-three ; 
West  Machias,  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  ;  Colum- 
bia, thirty-five  ;  Prescott,  sixty  ;  and  at  Calais,  seventy- 
seven  souls. 

The  CHURCHES  at  NEWCASTLE  or  DAMARISCOTTA, 
and  WHITEFIELD,  were  built  somewhere  in  the  years 
of  1818  and  1820,  and  are  stations  particularly  men- 
tioned in  the  mission  days  of  Right  Rev.  Dr.  De  Chev- 
erus.  The  Rev.  Denis  Ryan,  who  seems  to  have  been 
the  first  priest  appointed,  apart  from  the  occasional 
visits  of  Father  Romagne,  was  ordained  in  Boston, 
May  21,  1817. 


CHURCH  AT  PORTLAND. 

In  the  first  tour  made  to  the  eastern  portion  of  his 
vast  diocese,  during  the  summer  of  1827,  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Fenwick  offered  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass  in  this  city,  August  9,  in  the  upper  room  of  a 
house  adjoining  the  Museum,  where  the  faithful,  to 
the  number  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  souls, 
were  accustomed  to  assemble  on  Sundays  for  prayer, 
pious  reading,  and  mutual  edification.  Edified  and 
encouraged  by  the  lively  faith  and  fervent  zeal  of  this 
infant  congregation,  which  reminded  him  so  much 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  277 

of  the  first  Christian  assembly  in  the  upper  room  at 
Jerusalem,  he  remained  here  several  days,  saying 
mass,  preaching,  hearing  confessions,  and  instructing 
those  who  had  never  received  the  Sacrament  of  Con- 
firmation, to  whom,  thirteen  in  number,  he  subse- 
quently administered  it. 

Rev.  Father  Ffrench  having  been  appointed,  in 
connection  with  other  stations  attended  by  him,  to 
look  after  the  spiritual  welfare  of  these  devoted 
Christians  of  Portland,  commenced  "questing"  for 
the  purpose  of  building  a  church,  and  receiving 
every  encouragement  from  the  Catholics  of  the  place, 
according  to  their  means,  as  well  as  from  their  fellow- 
citizens,  though  not  members  of  the  Church,  and 
from  Catholics  abroad,  he  began  the  Church  of  St. 
Dominic,  a  stone  building  measuring  forty  by  forty- 
five  feet,  which  was  dedicated  August  n,  1833,  at 
which  time  the  congregation  had  increased  to  the 
number  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  members.  The 
holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  was  offered  by  Rev.  Fr. 
McNamee,  and  the  dedication  performed  by  the 
Bishop,  who  preached  on  the  occasion,  selecting  for 
his  text,  "  I  have  chosen  and  have  sanctified  this 
place,  that  my  name  may  be  there  forever,  and  my 
eyes  and  my  heart  may  remain  there  perpetually." 

The  morning  services  over,  Rev.  Fr.  Ffrench  con- 
ducted the  Bishop  and  clergy,  and  particular  friends 
whom  he  had  invited,  to  a  bower  in  the  garden, 
where  dinner  was  served  up,  his  house  being  too 
small  to  accommodate  all  invited  guests. 

In  consequence  of  the  small  number  of  priests  at 


278  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

the  Bishop's  disposal,  and  Rev.  Fr.  Ffrench  having 
left  for  Europe,  Portland  had  a  succession  of  pastors 
to  attend  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  faithful,  among 
whom,  in  the  year  1848,  was  Rev.  Fr.  Maguire, 
who,  to  accommodate  the  increased  numbers  of  the 
congregation,  was  authorized,  by  the  successor  of 
Bishop  Fenwick,  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  to 
enlarge  the  church,  which  he  did  by  the  addition  of 
forty  feet. 

Previous  to  his  leaving  for  Europe,  Rev.  Fr. 
Ffrench  acknowledged  his  grateful  thanks  to  the  gen- 
erous benefactors  of  Boston,  from  whom  he  had 
received  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty-six 
dollars,  which  he  distributed  towards  building  the 
church  at  Dover,  eight  hundred  dollars,  Portland,  one 
thousand  two  hundred  and  seventeen,  Eastport,  five 
hundred  and  nine,  and  for  land  at  Saco,  four  hundred. 


CHURCH  AT  BANGOR. 

The  Catholic  residents  at  Bangor  and  its  neighbor- 
hood, who,  in  1833,  were  attended  by  Rev.  James 
Conway,  and  who  at  the  time  numbered  one  hundred 
and  forty,  were  accustomed  to  assemble  for  divine 
worship  in  a  hired  hall.  A  lot  having  at  length  been 
secured,  the  Church  of  St.  Michael,  Archangel,  was 
commenced,  under  the  pastorship  of  Rev.  Edward 
Lynch,  in  the  year  1837,  and  was  dedicated  Novem- 
ber 10,  1839. 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  279 

The  report  of  Rev.  Thomas  O'Sullivan,  who  was 
pastor  of  the  congregation  in  1842,  gives  the  census 
of  the  Catholics  at  Bangor  as  one  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  families,  at  Ellsworth,  thirty,  at  Bucksport,  ten, 
and  as  scattered,  or  living  in  other  places,  twenty. 


CHURCH  AT  AUGUSTA,  HALLOWELL,  AND  GAR- 
DINER. 

The  faithful  residing  in  these  towns  were,  as  early 
as  1836,  attended  by  Rev.  Fr.  Curtin.  Two  years 
later,  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev.  Fr.  Ryan,  a 
very  respectable  building,  with  its  tower,  bell,  and 
clock,  was  erected  at  Gardiner,  and  by  the  Bishop 
blessed,  August  4,  1838,  who,  at  the  same  time,  ad- 
ministered the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  to  eigh- 
teen persons.  In  1841,  Augusta  and  Gardiner  were 
attended  by  Rev.  John  O'Beirne. 


CHURCH  AT  AUGUSTA. 

We  learn  from  the  Catholic  Observer  of  July,  1847, 
that  Rev.  P.  Caraher  has  erected  a  beautiful  church 
in  Augusta,  Me.  The  building,  which  measures  up- 
wards of  sixty  feet  in  length,  is  of  a  simple,  yet  chaste 
and  classic  style  of  architecture,  and  does  much  honor 
to  both  pastor  and  people  ;  that  the  Governor  of  the 


280  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

State,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  the  Speaker  of  the 
House,  and  many  members  of  the  legislature  sub- 
scribed liberally  towards  its  erection. 


CHURCH  AT  WHITEFIELD. 

The  small  frame  building,  which  years  previously 
had  been  erected  for  the  purpose  of  divine  service, 
becoming  too  small  for  the  increased  numbers  of  the 
faithful,  a  new  brick  structure,  measuring  eighty  by 
fifty  feet,  was  erected  by  the  venerated  pastor,  Rev. 
Fr.  Ryan,  on  an  elevated  site  in  the  centre  of  the 
town,  and  dedicated  to  God,  under  the  invocation  of 
St.  Denis,  August  12,  1838,  on  which  joyful  occasion 
the  Bishop  administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirma- 
tion to  eighty  persons. 


BENEDICTA.  —  HOULTON. 

The  churches  of  St.  Mary  and  St.  Benedict  were 
erected  about  the  same  time,  1835,  and  were  attended 
successively  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Tyler,  Conway,  and 
Dougherty. 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  28l 


CHURCH  OF  CLAREMONT,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

The  first  church  in  this  State  was  erected  by  Rev. 
Virgil  Horace  Barber,  at  Claremont,  in  1823,  and  so 
constructed  as  to  serve  the  twofold  purpose,  for  divine 
service  and  a  study  hall  above,  where  were  taught  the 
higher  branches  of  education. 

Rev.  Fr.  Barber  had  been  a  minister  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Church,  but,  by  the  grace  of  God,  he, 
with  his  wife,  son,  and  daughters,  were,  in  1816,  con- 
verted to  the  One,  Holy,  Catholic,  and  Apostolic 
Church. 

Subsequent  to  their  conversion,  this  devoted  couple, 
actuated  by  the  purest  religious  motives,  and  under 
the  impression  that  they  might,  for  the  greater  glory 
of  God  and  welfare  of  their  neighbors,  do  a  large 
amount  of  good  individually,  if  at  liberty,  in  imita- 
tion of  those  of  whom  we  read  in  the  early  ages  of 
Christianity,  after  due  reflection  and  mutual  consent, 
separated,  the  father  to  prepare  for  Holy  Orders, 
which  he  received  at  the  hands  of  Bishop  De  Chev- 
erus,  December  i,  1822,  the  mother  and  daughters  to 
seek  in  retirement  all  the  spiritual  delights  of  reli- 
gion ;  while  Samuel,  their  son,  evincing  a  disposition 
for  religious  life,  entered  Georgetown  College,  where, 
having  completed  his  studies,  he  was  ordained,  and 
after  years  of  usefulness,  died  a  holy  priest  in  the 
Society  of  Jesus.  The  mother,  Mrs.  B.,  having  edi- 
fied the  Community  by  her  exemplary  piety,  was 
elected  Superior  of  the  religious  Order  of  the  Visita- 


282  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

tion,  into  which  Society  one  of  the  daughters  equally 
entered  ;  while  the  others  became  members  of  the 
Ursuline  Community,  and  were  among  those  who 
had  to  fly  for  their  lives  at  the  midnight  hour,  Au- 
gust n,  1834,  when  the  infuriated  mob  destroyed 
their  peaceful  home  at  Mount  Benedict,  Charlestown, 
Mass. 

The  father  of  Rev.  V.  H.  Barber,  Daniel,  had  also 
been  for  many  years  a  Protestant  Episcopal  minister ; 
he  too,  with  his  aged  wife,  daughter,  Rachel,  and 
second  son,  Israel,  were,  upon  their  conversion,  re- 
ceived into  the  Church. 

The  sister  of  Rev.  Daniel,  Mrs.  Tyler,  and  her 
family,  were  equally  favored  about  the  same  time,  and 
to  their  conversion  the  Diocese  of  Hartford  became 
indebted  for  its  first  Bishop,  Right  Rev.  William 
Tyler,  and  the  Sisters  of  Charity  at  Emmettsburg  for 
an  accession  to  their  numbers  in  the  daughters,  who 
felt  called  to  forsake  all  else  and  devote  their  lives  to 
the  care  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  widows,  and  orphans. 

Besides  these,  there  were  several  other  devout  con- 
verts, who  swelled  the  congregation  of  the  unpretend- 
ing little  church  at  Claremont ;  among  them,  Misses 
Chase  and  Alden,  who  subsequently  entered  the  quiet 
home  with  the  Misses  Barber  already  mentioned  ;  and 
one  other  name  we  will  add,  that  of  Captain  Bela 
Chase  and  family,  whose  conversion  was  prompted 
by  that  clause  of  New  Hampshire  legislative  exclu- 
siveness  that  forbade  a  Catholic  holding  any  office, 
however  menial,  in  the  State.  Their  commendable 
curiosity  to  learn  the  faith  and  principles  of  a  Church 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  283 

so  looked  down  upon,  of  a  people  so  despised,  led 
them  to  look  into  the  approved  and  authenticated 
works  that  teach  the  true  doctrines  of  Catholicity, 
and  the  result  was,  their  discovery  of  what  they  were 
to  believe  and  what  to  practise,  with  infallible  certi- 
tude, to  save  their  souls. 

The  conversion  of  Rev.  Fr.  Barber,  we  may  add, 
was  not  without  producing  the  happiest  results  other- 
wise, as  it  led  the  way  to  the  conversion  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Keeley,  an  Episcopal  clergyman,  and  rector  of  St. 
George's  Chapel,  New  York,  and  of  George  Iron- 
side, a  member  also  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  of 
Rev.  Calvin  White,  of  Connecticut,  and  others. 

At  the  first  visit  of  Bishop  Fenwick  to  Claremont, 
in  1826,  he  administered  the  Sacrament  of  Confirma- 
tion to  twenty-one  individuals,  mostly  converts,  at 
which  time  the  little  church  was  crowded  to  excess, 
the  greater  part  present  on  the  occasion  being  Protes- 
tants from  the  church  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
village,  of  which  Rev.  Daniel  Barber  had  formerly 
been  pastor,  and  by  whom  he  had  been  deeply  be- 
loved, and  to  whom,  in  his  valedictory  at  parting,  he 
said,  "  I  now  retire  to  the  shades  of  poverty ;  may 
the  faults  which  I  have  committed  while  among  you 
be  written  on  the  sands  of  the  sea-shore,  that  the  next 
returning  wave  may  wash  them  into  oblivion." 


284  SKETCHES,   ETC. 


CHURCH  AT  DOVER. 

The  Right  Rev.  Bishop  having  learned  the  anxiety 
of  the  faithful,  who  were  for  the  most  part  operatives 
in  the  factories  at  Dover,  to  share  the  advantages  of 
their  religion,  commissioned  Rev.  Father  Mahony, 
January  15,  1827,  who  had  been  lately  affiliated  to 
the  diocese,  to  visit  them,  which  he  did,  heard  the 
confessions  of  all  who  were  prepared,  said  mass,  and 
preached  in  the  Court  House  to  a  very  respectful 
audience,  composed  for  the  most  part  of  Protestants. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  same  year,  December 
19,  the  Bishop  visited  Dover  in  person,  said  mass 
at  the  house  of  .Mr.  Byrne,  and  administered  Con- 
firmation to  two  individuals.  Learning  that  there 
were  between  forty  and  fifty  adult  Catholics  living 
there,  he  encouraged  the  purchase  of  a  lot  whereon 
they  might  build  a  small  church.  This  intimation 
of  the  Bishop,  small  as  were  their  numbers,  was  so 
cheerfully  complied  with,  that  at  his  next  visit,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1830,  they  had  a  very  neat  church  erected, 
measuring  fifty  by  thirty-six  feet,  which  he  dedicated 
to  God  under  the  title  of  St.  Aloysius. 

A  convenient  house  was  also  built  for  the  pastor, 
and  occupied  by  those  Reverend  Fathers  whom  the 
Bishop  endeavored  to  supply,  till  the  ordination  of 
Rev.  Path.  Canavan,  in  1832.  He  was  appointed 
pastor  of  Dover,  July  25,  1834,  and  in  the  summer 
of  1849  made  an  addition  of  thirty  feet  to  the  church, 
and  toiled  on  indefatigably  for  those  intrusted  to  his 


DIOCESE    OF    PORTLAND.  285 

care  till  declining  health  called  for  a  successor.     Rev. 
Fr.  Canavan  died  in  Boston,  April  26,  1870.     R.  I.  P. 

In  connection  with  the  introduction  of  Catholicity, 
into  what  is  now  the  State  of  Maine,  by  those  pioneer 
Missionaries  of  the  sixteenth  century,  as  seen  in  the 
early  pages  of  these  Sketches,  cheering  is  the  progress 
that  it  has  made,  and  is  making,  since  having  been 
erected  into  a  Diocese,  in  1855,  and  confided  to  the 
watchful  care  of  its  devoted  Bishop,  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
D.  VV.  Bacon,  and  his  Reverend  co-operators,  a  faith- 
ful and  zealous  clergy. 

In  addition  to  its  former  solitary  church,  Portland, 
at  this  day,  has  its  Cathedral  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception, with  its  Calvary  and  St.  Aloysius  Chapels, 
its  Academy  and  parochial  schools  with  their  thou- 
sand pupils,  while  Bangor  has  its  spacious  church,  its 
boarding  and  day  schools,  and,  without  particular- 
izing, throughout  the  State  its  twenty  odd  other 
churches  and  schools  connected,  where  called  for ; 
and  in  New  Hampshire,  its  twenty  and  more  addi- 
tional churches,  with  its  flourishing  Academy,  its 
boarding  and  free  schools,  and  its  Asylum  at.  Man- 
chester !  Cheering,  indeed,  and  every  way  encour- 
aging is  the  extension  of  the  Holy  Church  in  the 
Diocese  of  Portland.  Laus  Deo. 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD. 

COMPRISING  THE  COUNTIES  OF  BERKSHIRE,  FRANK- 
LIN, HAMPSHIRE,  HAMPDEN,  AND  WORCESTER, 
MASSACHUSETTS. 

THIS  Diocese  was  established  in  1870.  Right  Rev. 
P.  T.  O'REILLY,  D.  D.,  its  first  Bishop,  was  conse- 
crated September  25,  1870. 


CHURCH  AT  WORCESTER. 

New  Haven  and  adjacent  towns  having  been  con- 
fided to  the  care  of  Rev.  James  McDermott,  and 
Hartford  blessed  with  a  devoted  pastor  in  Rev.  John 
Brady,  our  Missionary  was  allowed  leisure  to  look 
after  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  faithful  dispersed 
over  the  easterly  part  of  Connecticut,  and  of  those  in 
the  central  and  western  portions  of  the  State  of 
Massachusetts ;  hence  he  selected,  in  1837,  Worces- 
ter as  his  headquarters. 

The  village,  as  it  was  then  called,  had  a  population 
of  seven  thousand  inhabitants,  of  whom  four  families, 
eighteen  unmarried  men  and  a  single  lady,  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Catholic  Church,  who  had  received  the 

286 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  287 

consolations  of  religion  from  time  to  time,  as  it  had 
been  found  convenient  to  visit  them. 

The  first  mass  offered  at  Worcester  was  in  the 
room  of  a  private  house,  occupied  by  a  worthy 
mechanic,  by  name  of  McKillup,  on  Front  Street, 
as  was  the  custom  over  the  entire  mission,  wherever 
a  Catholic  family  was  found  to  reside.  The  first  dis- 
course in  public,  in  the  absence  of  better  accommo- 
dations, was  delivered  in  the  dining  hall  of  a  tavern, 
then  located  near  the  Common.  Quite  a  respectable 
audience  were  present,  composed  for  the  most  part  of 
those  to  whom  the  doctrines  of  the  Church  were  a 
novelty,  but  who,  to  their  honor  be  it  said,  notwith- 
standing the  place,  evinced  as  much  decorum  as  if  it 
had  been  a  consecrated  house  of  prayer.  The  Bap- 
tismal Register,  previous  to  1834,  records  the  names, 
in  different  parts  of  the  county,  of  thirty-five  children 
and  three  adults,  converts  to  the  faith,  who  had  re- 
ceived the  Sacrament. 

The  great  Western  Railroad,  then  comparatively 
an  infant  enterprise,  had  been  commenced,  and  its 
industrious  mechanics  and  laborers,  with  their  wives 
and  little  ones,  leaving  Boston  in  the  distance,  and 
moving  onward  farther  and  farther  from  the  Church 
and  the  consolations  of  their  religion,  as  well  as  being 
liable  to  the  many  casualties  incident  to  the  excava- 
tion of  banks  and  blasting  of  rocks,  suggested  the 
propriety  of  erecting  a  small  church  at  Worcester. 
The  project  was  looked  upon  at  the  time  as  rather 
quixotic;  but  the  Missionary,  who  received  from  his 
venerated  and  beloved  Bishop  permission  to  do  as  to 


288  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

him  seemed  best,  fancied  he  saw,  with  one  point  of 
the  dividers  on  the  village  as  the  centre,  and  the  other 
encircling  the  many  mechanical  and  other  perspective 
privileges  in  its  surroundings,  a  population  of  thou- 
sands in  the  future,  commenced,  July  7,  '834,  a  small 
frame  building,  sixty-two  by  thirty-two  feet,  on  land 
then  mapped  out  for  building  purposes,  and  which, 
in  honor  of  the  enterprise,  was  named  Temple  Street. 

The  first  year  saw  the  foundation  laid,  the  follow- 
ing saw  the  building  up  and  roofed,  and  within  two 
years  completed  and  paid  for.  In  1841,  August  22d, 
it  was  dedicated  to  God  under  the  title  of  His  Divine 
Son,  Christ's  Church,  at  which  time  the  congregation 
had  so  far  increased,  that  one  hundred  and  eighteen 
children  and  adults,  many  of  whom  were  converts  to 
the  faith,  received  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation. 

In  the  meanwhile  several  stations,  from  Suffolk 
County,  Mass.,  to  the  border  lines  of  New  York  and 
New  Hampshire,  and  to  New  London,  Conn.,  were  to 
be  attended,  and  Rev.  A.  Williamson  was  appointed 
pastor ;  but  his  health  declining,  and  having  left  for 
Baltimore,  where  he  subsequently  died,  Rev.  M.  Gib- 
son was  appointed  to  the  charge  at  Worcester,  April 
2,  1845.  During  his  administration  a  more  extensive 
church  edifice  was  projected,  there  being,  as  esti- 
mated, seven  hundred  English-speaking  and  six  hun- 
dred French  Canadians  demanding  church  accom- 
modations. This  edifice,  a  substantial  brick  structure, 
was,  June  24,  1846,  dedicated  to  God  under  the  title 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  by  Right  Rev.  J.  B. 
Fitzpatrick,  in  presence  of  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fen- 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  289 

wick  and  the  Rev.  Professors  of  the  College  of  Holy 
Cross. 

Rev.  Father  J.  Boyce,  who  succeeded  Father  Gib- 
son, March  20,  1848,  converted  the  former  church 
building  into  spacious  school-rooms,  ample  ground 
having  been  originally  secured  for  church,  school, 
and  parochial  purposes. 


COLLEGE  OF  THE  HOLY  CROSS. 

Contemporary  with  the  erection  of  the  church  at 
Worcester,  our  Missionary  purchased  between  fifty 
and  sixty  acres  of  land  on  the  hill-side,  rising  on  the 
south  part  of  the  town,  known  by  the  name  of  Bog- 
achoag,  which  years  previous,  when  it  formed  a  part 
of  the  principal  settlement  of  the  Indians,  was  called 
Packachoag.  He  here  erected  buildings  for  educa- 
tional purposes,  known  as  St.  James's  Seminary, 
which  was  generously  patronized  by  students  from 
several  States  of  the  Union. 

The  location  having  proved  so  very  healthful,  and 
in  every  way  so  well  adapted  for  the  purpose  in- 
tended, apprehensive  that  at  death  the  Institution 
might  be  blotted  out,  it  was,  in  1842,  deeded  to  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  Fenwick,  with  the  express  understand- 
ing, that  it  should*  be  maintained  for  educational  pur- 
poses. The  offering  accepted,  the  annexed  notice, 
which  appeared  in  the  public  press  of  the  day,  tells 
the  result,  and  the  interest  manifested  on  the  occasion. 
'9 


290  SKETCHES,    ETC. 


"  Grand  Celebration  of  ike  Laying  of  the  Corner- 
stone of  the  College  of  Holy  Cross,  in  Worcester, 
Mass. 

"On  Wednesday  morning,  the  2ist  of  June,  the 
festival  of  St.  Aloysitis,  1843,  the  new  College  was 
commenced  by  laying  the  corner-stone.  Right  Rev. 
Bishop  Fenwick,  Rev.  C.  Constantine  Pise,  D.  D., 
accompanied  by  Rev.  Mr.  McCloskey,  of  St.  Joseph's 
Church,  New  York,  Very  Rev.  W.  Tyler,  of  the 
Diocese  of  Boston,  Rev.  Messrs.  Hardy  and  RolofF, 
of  the  Cathedral,  Rev.  Mr.  Flood,  of  St.  Mary's, 
Boston,  Rev.  Mr.  Goodwin,  of  Charlestown,  Rev.  Mr. 
Lynch,  of  Roxbury,  Rev.  Mr.  Fitzpatrick,  of  East 
Cambridge,  Rev.  Mr.  Conway,  of  Lowell,  Rev.  Mr. 
Strain,  of  Waltham,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Wiley,  of  Provi- 
dence, all  departed  in  a  special  train  of  cars  for 
Worcester,  accompanied  by  a  large  concourse  of  the 
citizens  of  Boston,  and  several  distinguished  strangers. 

"  On  the  arrival  at  the  railroad  station  in  Worces- 
ter, a  band  of  music  was  in  attendance,  together  with 
the  Catholic  Temperance  Society,  the  Young  Men's 
and  Young  Ladies'  Societies  attached  to  the  Sunday 
school,  with  their  appropriate  banners,  and  a  crowd 
of  the  inhabitants,  who  all  enthusiastically  greeted 
the  Right  Rev.  Prelate  and  his  Rev.  associates.  The 
day  was  beautiful,  the  sky  clear,  the  atmosphere  re- 
freshing and  invigorating,  and  the  sun  shed  his  noon- 
day lustre  over  every  hill  and  valley  for  miles  around. 

"  The  order  of  the  procession  formed,  all  moved  in 


DIOCESE    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  29! 

the  direction  of  the  College  site,  distant  about  two 
miles.  The  band  played  Adeste  fidelis  and  Hail 
Columbia,  and  the  star-spangled  banner  of  America 
could  be  seen  in  the  distance  waving  triumphantly  on 
the  Alpine  like  heights  of  the  romantic  site,  and  the 
roaring  noise  of  the  cannon  was  heard  through  the 
town  and  adjacent  country  for  almost  an  hour,  during 
the  progress  of  the  procession.  The  procession  was 
nearly  one  mile  in  length,  and  the  ladies  of  Worcester 
graced  the  moving  throng  with  their  lovely  presence. 
On  arriving  near  the  brow  of  the  College  ground, 
the  superintendent  had  already  constructed  arbors  and 
shady  groves  for  the  accommodation  of  the  visitors  and 
youth  now  assembling.  In  the  residence  attached  to 
the  former  Seminary,  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  and 
clergy  arrayed  themselves  in  surplices,  the  Bishop 
wearing  his  mitre  and  crosier.  Here  the  most  im- 
posing and  sublime  part  of  the  procession  was  formed, 
and  as  the  glorious  banner  of  the  effulgent  cross  ap- 
peared in  front  of  the  ecclesiastical  body,  and  as  the 
sacred  notes  of  a  solemn  chant  echoed  along  the 
breeze  of  the  emerald-like  valley,  amid  the  sound  of 
artillery,  and  beneath  the  stars  and  stripes  of  our 
beloved  country,  I  felt  proud  of  the  magnificent 
scene,  and  I  felt  proud  of  the  worthy  occasion  of 
laying  the  first  corner-stone  of  the  first  Catholic  Col- 
lege in  New  England. 

"  After  laying  of  the  corner-stone,  and  depositing 
several  coins  and  newspapers  of  the  day,  together 
with  a  record  of  the  names  of  the  officers  of  the 
State,  the  procession  moved  around  the  foundation 


292  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

walls  of  "  The  College  of  the  Holy  Cross,"  and  the 
Bishop  blessed  them  in  the  usual  manner.  After  the 
Vent  Creator,  Rev.  Dr.  C.  C.  Pise,  of  New  York, 
ascended  the  platform  erected  for  the  occasion,  and 
beautifully  decorated  with  evergreen  boughs.  At  this 
moment  thousands  of  spectators  gathered  around  the 
orator's  stand,  and  covered  the  neighboring  heights, 
in  vehicles  and  on  foot,  in  order  to  hear  the  Rev. 
Orator  pour  forth  his  lofty  strains  of  eloquence." 

'•'•Address  by  the  Rev.  C.  Constantine  Pise,  D.  D. 

"  The  object  for  which  we  have  convened,  on  the 
present  memorable  occasion,  is  of  such  a  nature,  that 
it  cannot  but  excite  profound  attention  in  the  public 
mind.  It  is  a  great  national  and  religious  object, 
the  effects  of  which  are  to  be  experienced,  far  and 
wide,  not  merely  by  the  present  generation,  but,  like- 
wise, by  posterity.  The  ceremony  of  laying  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  a  new  College  must  be  regarded  as 
peculiarly  solemn  and  sacred :  perhaps,  after  that  of 
an  edifice  dedicated  exclusively  and  immediately  to 
the  services  of  divine  worship,  the  most  solemn  and 
sacred  that  can  be  imagined.  I  know  of  no  building 
more  deserving  of  veneration  from  the  good  citizen 
and  genuine  patriot  —  after  a  Church  —  than  a  Semi- 
nary of  Education.  A  Church  is  consecrated  to  the 
tenets  and  rites  of  religion  ;  a  College  to  the  arts  and 
sciences,  to  literatui'e  and  the  muses.  The  latter  may 
be  considered  the  offspring  of  the  former.  For  they 
guide  and  direct  to  the  knowledge  of  Truth,  which 


DIOCESE    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  293 

can  be  attained  only  by  patient  research  and  laborious 
industry,  which  require  the  aid  of  the  sciences  and 
letters.  The  prosperity  and  glory  of  a  nation  may, 
therefore,  be  estimated  in  proportion  to  the  increase 
of  such  edifices  as  the  one  of  which  the  corner-stone 
is,  this  day,  placed  on  this  beautiful  and  romantic 
spot :  the  natural  retreat,  it  would  seem,  of  the  Vir- 
tues, and  the  congenial  haunt  of  the  Muses,  which 
flourish  and  rejoice  most  in  the  shades  and  solitudes 
of  the  country. 

u  In  any  part  of  the  civilized  world,  such  a  cere- 
mony would  not  fail  to  command  attention,  but  no- 
where as  much  as  in  our  own  republic.  Young 
though  still  she  be,  her  happy  soil  is  already  dotted 
and  variegated  with  houses  of  education  ;  and  the 
genius  of  Liberty  never  more  triumphantly  exults,  in 
the  midst  of  the  glorious  institutions  of  this  favored 
land,  than  at  beholding  seminaries  of  this  character 
springing  up,  and  promising  to  spread  abroad  the 
blessings  of  knowledge  and  intellectual  cultivation, 
without  regard  to  differences  of  religious  opinions, 
and  without  any  distinction  of  creeds  or  forms.  Yes, 
this  is  the  boast,  and  may  this  ever  be  the  glory,  of 
our  republic  ;  in  fact,  it  must  be,  as  long  as  the  re- 
public subsists.  For.  the  moment  any  attempt  were 
made  to  give  the  preference  of  one  mode  of  worship 
over  another,  that  moment  the  brightest  prerogative 
of  our  constitution  is  extinguished,  —  the  happiest 
boon  bequeathed  to  us  by  the  Fathers  of  our  Country 
is  destroyed:  —  I  mean  the  most  unrestrained  and 
universal  freedom  of  conscience. 


294  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

"  This  being  the  case,  I  feel  convinced  that  the 
ancient  and  venerable  State  of  Massachusetts  —  al- 
ways famed  for  patriotic  virtues  and  enlightened, 
views  —  will  greet  the  erection  on  her  soil  of  another 
seminary  of  learning,  no  matter  under  what  religious 
influence  it  may  arise.  She  will  perfectly  understand, 
that  where  there  is  right  education  there  is  no  danger 
to  be  apprehended  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  sound- 
est principles  of  liberty,  the  sublimest  precepts  of 
Christianity,  the  purest  maxims  of  morality  and  na- 
tional fraternization,  will  be  taught  and  inculcated. 
And  if  the  spirit  that  presides  over  and  pervades  the 
whole  be  Catholic  in  name,  it  will  be  truly  so  in 
effect :  worthy,  indeed,  of  its  appellation,  embracing 
all  our  fellow-citizens,  and  all  our  institutions,  with 
the  same  impartial  affection  and  heart-felt  interest, 
laboring  in  the  common  cause  of  disseminating  knowl- 
edge among  all  classes,  and  deserving  well  of  our  be- 
loved country,  which  we  prove  to  be  the  more  dear 
to  us,  the  more  idefatigable  we  are  found  in  adminis- 
tering our  aid  to  the  promotion  of  the  general  good. 

"  The  fact  of  a  Catholic  College,  under  the  man- 
agement of  the  Jesuits,  about  being  established  in  this 
place,  has,  no  doubt,  already  spread  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  this  State  ;  and  I  feel  confident 
that  intense  curiosity,  as  to  its  character  and  destina- 
tion, must  have  been  excited  in  the  minds  of  thou- 
sands. Not  having  enjoyed  the  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing themselves  acquainted  with  the  spirit  of  our 
Church,  and  the  Institute  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
it  is  possible  that  certain  misgivings,  not  to  say  mis- 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  295 

apprehensions,  may  be  entertained  regarding  the  one 
and  the  other.  And  it  is  incumbent  on  me  to  impart 
correct  information  on  both,  to  all  those  whom  I  now 
have  the  honor  of  addressing. 

"  The  Catholic  Church  has  always  cherished  with- 
in her  bosom  a  sacred  and  undying  solicitude  for  the 
education  of  the  people.  To  many,  who  have  not 
paid  sufficient  attention  to  the  history  of  past  times, 
this  proposition  may  appear  extraordinary.  But  it  is, 
nevertheless,  a  fact,  to  which  the  whole  world,  in  all 
preceding  centuries,  will  bear  witness.  The  germ  of 
knowledge  was  implanted  in  the  dogmas  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  it  expanded  and  flourished  in  the  same 
proportion  as  they  were  developed  and  extended 
among  men.  Wherever,  in  ancient  days,  a  temple 
consecrated  to  religion  was  constructed,  hard  by  there 
was  always  sure  to  spring  up,  as  a  necessary  appen- 
dage, some  school  of  learning,  some  seminary,  within 
the  walls  of  which  the  study  of  letters  was  pursued 
with  unremitting  attention,  science,  both  sacred  and 
profane,  was  fostered  with  untiring  diligence  and  en- 
thusiastic care.  Universities  were  founded  and  en- 
dowed, under  the  shadow  of  whose  walls  the  inspired 
volume  was  transcribed  by  the  skilful  craft  of  the 
monastic  inmates,  and  the  classic  authors,  whose  ele- 
gant productions  we  now  enjoy  wei'e  rescued  from 
destruction,  and  preserved  for  the  benefit  and  delight 
of  succeeding  generations. 

"  It  was  the  Church  that  stood  between  the  deluge 
of  barbarism  that  inundated  Europe  and  the  venerable 
monuments  of  ancient  literature.  She  sustained  them 


296  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

with  the  power  of  her  arm,  whilst,  in  dread  confusion 
around,  all  other  monuments  of  architecture,  .taste, 
and  glory  lay  crumbled  on  the  earth,  cloven  down  by 
the  irresistible  and  unsparing  stroke  of  Vandalism. 
In  the  midst  of  the  desolation  which  swept  over  the 
civilized  world,  she  supported,  firm  on  the  basis 
round  which  everything  else  was  convulsed,  the 
HOLY  CROSS  ;  and  under  its  heavenly  protection, 
sheltered  and  sustained  the  asylum  of  the  arts  and 
sciences,  which,  otherwise,  must  have  been  con- 
founded with  the  general  wreck,  leaving  hardly  a 
melancholy  vestige  behind. 

"  The  history  of  the  revival  of  letters,  under  the 
pontificate  of  Leo  X.,  is  familiar  to  every  reader,  and 
has  been  encircled  with  a  never  dying  halo  by  the 
genius  of  Roscoe.  From  the  testimony  recorded  in 
its  annals  results  the  glorious  evidence,  that  it  was 
the  light  of  the  Church  breaking  in  on  the  deep  and 
dreary  clouds  of  ignorance  that  hung  over  Europe, 
which  dispersed  the  intellectual  night,  and  revealed 
anew  to  the  admiration  of  the  world  all  the  treasures, 
and  gems,  and  ornaments  of  mind,  talent,  and  learn- 
ing which  had  long  lain  buried  under  the  rubbish  of 
years.  The  sovereign  Pontiff  was  the  first  to  give  an 
impulse  to  the  magnificent  project.  Catholic  Rome 
became  the  metropolis  of  letters.  The  Muses,  so 
long  banished  from  the  earth,  returned  to  their  an- 
cient seat  at  the  invitation  of  Religion.  Once  more 
were  the  groves  of  Egeria  made  vocal  with  their 
classic  lays,  while  the  voice  of  Eloquence  resounded 
again  through  the  long-deserted  Forum.  Thus  may 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  297 

it  be  said  that  Liberty  was  restored  to  the  earth  by 
the  Church.  For  Liberty  is  the  sister  of  letters,  and 
Religion  is  the  parent  of  both.  Inspired  by  this  con- 
viction, the  fancy  of  Pope  could  not  but  break  forth 
into  these  well-known  lines  :  — 

'' '  But  see  each  muse  in  Leo's  golden  days, 

Starts  from  her  trance  and  trims  her  withered  bays; 
Rome's  ancient  genius  o'er  its  ruins  spread, 
Shakes  off  the  dust,  and  rears  his  reverend  head.' 

"  The  idea  that  Catholic  education  is  adapted  only 
to  certain  quarters  of  the  world,  and  not  to  others,  is 
incorrect  and  unfounded.  For  it  adapts  itself,  with 
singular  felicity,  to  all  governments  ;  it  flourishes  in 
every  hemisphere.  Like  Christianity,  it  is  intended 
for  every  people  and  for  every  clime.  To  every  le- 
gitimate form  of  civilized  government  Christianity  is 
congenial.  Its  universal  and  beneficent  character  is 
not  affected  by  the  people  among  whom  it  resides  ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  tends  to  refine  the  ferocious,  en- 
lighten the  ignorant,  and  impart  order  and  inspire 
virtue  among  the  heterogeneous  constituents  of  human 
'society.  The  same  may  be  affirmed  of  Catholic  edu- 
cation. In  monarchical  governments,  it  tends  to  reg- 
ulate and  define  the  relations  between  the  throne  and 
the  subject ;  in  a  republic,  it  fosters  liberty,  and  re- 
strains licentiousness.  It  inculcates  the  necessity  of 
virtue,  morality,  and  charity  towards  all  mankind. 
It  breathes  an  inextinguishable  spirit  of  patriotism 
into  the  ingenuous  bosom,  and  bids  the  American 
youth  remember  and  be  grateful  for  the  inestimable 


290  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

privileges  he  is  destined  to  enjoy  under  the  freest  and 
happiest  government  on  earth  ;  privileges  which  he 
would  not  sacrifice  to  any  foreign  authority  ;  a  gov- 
ernment, in  defence  of  which  he  would  regard  it  the 
noblest  act  to  die,  if  necessary,  at  the  cannon's  mouth. 

"  Thus  far  I  have  spoken  of  this  College  as  Cath- 
olic ;  but,  as  it  is  to  be  intrusted  to  the  care  of  the 
Jesuits,  it  is  requisite  that  something  touching  that 
renowned  order,  especially  as  relating  to  education, 
should  now  be  added.  The  founder  of  this  extraor- 
dinary society,  which  has  filled  the  whole  earth  with 
its  fame,  was,  as  you  well  know,  Ignatius  of  Loyola. 
'  His  object  was,'  in  the  language  of  one  of  his  own 
members,  and  an  eloquent  historian,  Orlandinus,  '  to 
leave  nothing  untried  by  which  to  promote  the  greater 
glory  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of  souls,  having  be- 
fore his  eyes  no  prospect  of  earthly  rewards.'  Deni- 
que  nihil  intentatum  relinquant,  quod  vel  ad  maxi- 
mum Divini  nominis  gloriam,  vel  ad  animorum 
salutem  senserint  expedire,  nullis  ante  oculos  prce- 
positis  prcemiis* 

"  One  of  the  principal  ends  of  this  society  was  to 
devote  its  members  to  the  education  of  youth,  to 
establish  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  the  gates 
of  which  should  be  thrown  open,  as  far  as  practi- 
cable, gratuitously,  to  the  children  of  the  poor  as  well 
as  of  the  wealthy  ;  for  the  purpose  of  imbuing  the 
tender  minds  of  youth  with  a  relish  for  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  liberal  arts,  and  the  practice  of  Christian 
virtues.  Proprium  item,  toto  terrarum  orbe,  expo- 

*  Hist.  Soc.,  lib.  ii.  25. 


DIOCESE    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  299 

sita  gratis  habere  gymnasia  ad  instituendam*  non 
modo  liberalibus  disciplinis,  verumetiam  christianis 
moribus  juventutcm.* 

"  We  behold  here  the  disinterested  motives  by 
which,  from  its  earliest  institution,  the  Society  of 
Jesus  has  ever  been  actuated.  It  originated  in  the 
desire  and  intention  of  diffusing  knowledge  and  virtue 
through  all  classes  of  society.  It  is  established  on  a 
basis  of  sublime  Christian  chanty.  And,  whether  we 
contemplate  the  unwearied  perseverance  and  zeal  of 
its  members  in  the  great  cause  of  education,  in  all  its 
branches  and  varieties,  or  in  the  laborious  but  trium- 
phant missions  among  uncivilized  and  unexplored 
nations,  it  is  impossible  not  to  acknowledge  that  the 
original  object  of  its  founder  has  been  carried  out 
to  an  extent  which  commands  the  admiration,  not 
only  of  Catholic,  but  likewise  of  Protestant  authors. 
'  The  Founder  of  this  Society,'  writes  Mr.  Carne, 
'  was  a  man  of  no  ordinary  mind  and  character.  He 
has  been  represented,  by  his  enemies,  as  an  impostor 
and  fanatic,  before  his  conversion.  It  is  not  too  much 
to  say,  that  Loyola  was  not  a  fanatic,  and  far  less  an 
impostor.  His  mind  was  too  powerful  to  condescend 
to  the  former  ;  and  who  that  reads  his  Spiritual  Exer- 
cises will  venture  to  say  he  was  the  latter?  It  was 
his  passionate  desire  that  Christ  might  be  preached  to 
the  utmost  ends  of  the  world,  and  that  all  nations 
might  know  the  Lord  and  call  him  blessed.  His  was 
not  the  ambition  of  worldly  honor  and  glory.  It 
aimed  at  a  loftier  flight.  The  enthusiasm  of  Loyola 

*  Hist.  Soc.,  lib.  i. 


3<X>  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

was  in  admirable  keeping,  and  did  not  war  with  his 
cold  and  clear  intellect.  His  was  not  a  fiery  zeal. 
There  was  a  spiritual  composure  in  his  actions,  nor 
do  we  find  wild  imaginings  and  extravagant  fancies, 
either  of  heart  or  mind,  in  his  maturer  years.  There 
was  evidently  in  him  a  singleness  of  disposition,  that 
does  not  warrant  the  idea  that  this  Society  was  insti- 
tuted for  those  worldly  objects  which  have  formed  the 
burden  of  the  accusations  against  him.* 

"  This  elegant  writer,  although,  by  no  means  partial 
to  the  Church,  of  which  the  Jesuits  have  ever  been, 
and  still  are,  the  most  able  vindicators,  and  the  noblest 
apostles,  still  could  not  restrain  the  almost  involuntary 
emotion  of  admiration  which  was  awakened  in  his 
breast,  at  the  consideration  of  the  labors  of  this  won- 
derful Societ}'.  '  Are  not  theirs,'  he  cries  out,  '  the 
greatest  number  of  martyrs  in  the  cause  of  Christ 
among  the  heathen.  Is  not  the  most  brilliant,  the 
most  varied,  the  most  extensive  talent  to  be  found 
among  the  Sons  of  Loyola  ?  Even  their  most  bitter 
enemies,  who  abused  the  Jesuits  as  a  body,  were 
often  found  to  praise  them  individually.  Pascal  wrote 
against  them,  Voltaire  and  D'Alembert  accused  them 
of  crimes,  but  Cardinal  Fleury  confessed  their  value, 
Bossuet  praised  them,  and  Lord  Bacon  applied  to 
them  these  words :  "  tails  cum  sis  utinam  noster 
esses."  Leibnitz  indignantly  defended  them,  Montes- 
quieu, BufTon,  and  Haller  honored  their  labors,  and 
•witnessed  to  their  virtues.' 

*  Lives  of  Eminent  Catholic  Missionaries,  by  Rob. 
Carne,  Esq.,  London,  &c. 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  30! 

"  As  a  proof  of  the  zeal  which  the  Society  dis- 
played in  the  cause  of  Education,  we  find,  that  in 
less  than  half  a  century  upwards  of  fifty  Colleges 
were  established  in  the  various  capitals  of  Europe, 
in  China,  and  in  Brazil.  Of  these  the  principal  were 
those  of  Rome,  Palermo,  Paris,  Louvain,  Naples, 
Oporto,  Cordova,  &c. 

"  In  the  United  States,  the  Jesuits  have  several 
flourishing  and  celebrated  institutions,  particularly 
the  Universities  of  Georgetown  and  St.  Louis.  The 
former  was  founded  by  the  immortal  John  Carroll, 
afterwards  Archbishop  of  Baltimore,  more  than  sixty 
years  ago,  and  has  stood  before  the  country  pre-emi- 
nent for  the  learning  of  its  professors,  distinguished 
for  the  advantages  of  location,  and  honored  for  the 
numberless  illustrious  personages  educated  within  its 
halls.  Among  whom  it  can  point,  with  proud  com- 
placency and  merited  exultation,  to  such  names  as 
Judge  Gaston,  of  North  Carolina,  and  the  venerable 
Bishop  of  Boston,  under  whose  patronage,  and  by 
whose  liberality,  this  edifice  is  to  be  erected.  That 
University,  situated  within  sight  of  the  Capitol  at 
Washington,  under  the  eyes  of  Senators  and  Judges, 
and  Members  of  Congress  from  all  the  States  of  the 
Union,  has  not  only  been  able  to  stand  their  closest 
scrutiny,  but  has  won  them  general  admiration.  The 
spirit  that  animates  the  whole  body  is  of  the  loftiest, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  gentlest  character.  It  has 
thus  nothing  but  the  love  of  letters,  of  virtue,  of  reli- 
gion, of  patriotism.  And  I  think  I  may  venture  to 
assert,  that  in  no  other  such  Seminary  in  the  Union 


3O2  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

have  there  been  exhibited  more  frequent  or  more  un- 
equivocal demonstrations  of  love  of  the  Republic, 
and  enthusiasm  for  its  institutions,  than  under  the 
turrets  of  Georgetown  College.  In  confirmation  of 
this,  I  appeal  to  the  annual  celebrations  of  Washing- 
ton's Birthday  and  the  Fourth  of  July,  on  which  na- 
tional festivals  addresses  are  delivered  by  some  of  the 
young  alumni,  which  would  do  honor  to  the  youth  of 
Rome  or  Sparta.  Many  of  these  addresses  have  been 
published,  and  thus  have  given  evidence  of  the  adap- 
tation of  the  educational  system  of  Ignatius  to  the 
genius  of  republicanism  as  well  as  the  ancient  gov- 
ernments of  Europe. 

"  The  same  profound  attachment  to  the  institutions 
of  our  beloved  country,  the  same  genuine  tokens  of 
patriotic  conviction,  characterize  the  inmates  of  the 
University  of  St.  Louis.  This  now  most  flourishing 
Seminary  of  learning  may  be  regarded  as  the  daughter 
of  that  of  Georgetown.  It  sprang  out  of  its  bosom, 
and  was  originally  composed  of  its  members.  It  will 
not,  therefore,  surprise  us  if  it  has  inherited  its  spirit. 
Witness  the  following  passage,  extracted  from  an  ora- 
tion delivered  on  the  Fourth  of  July,  by  the  President, 
the  Rev.  J.  Vandevelde  :  '  Our  country  has  incontes- 
table claims  upon  every  one  of  her  citizens.  What- 
ever profession  we  may  have  embraced,  whatever 
station  we  may  hold  in  society,  we  owe  ourselves  to 
our  country.  We  are  bound  to  watch  over  her  safety 
and  prosperity  —  to  fly  to  her  aid  when  she  is  exposed 
to  danger,  and  to  promote  her  internal  peace  and 
happiness  by  contributing  to  establish  concord  and 
harmony  among  all  our  fellow-citizens.' 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  303 

"  I  make  this  extract,  in  order  to  satisfy  those 
amongst  my  audience,  who  have  not  had  the  proper 
opportunity  of  informing  themselves  on  the  subject 
to  which  their  attention  is  now  directed.  Jesuitism 
is  a  word  which  has  been  strangely  distorted  from  its 
proper  signification.  I  know  it.  I  am  convinced  of 
it.  For,  having  had  the  honor  of  receiving  my  edu- 
cation under  the  shadow  of  Georgetown  College,  I 
can  speak  from  a  long  and  thorough  acquaintance. 
And  I  cannot  conceal  that  the  affection  I  formed  in 
my  childhood  for  that  my  venerable  alma  mater,  has 
only  strengthened  and  become  more  deeply  rooted  at 
the  present  period  of  my  existence.  And  I  am  proud 
to  exclaim  with  St.  Francis  Xavier,  '  If  I  forget  thee, 
O  Society  of  Jesus,  may  my  right  hand  forget  its 
cunning! ' 

"  I  have  before  me  another  testimony  in  favor  of  the 
character  of  Jesuit  education,  which  must  be  con- 
sidered as  valuable  as  it  is  impartial.  It  is  taken  from 
the  '  Daily  People's  Organ,'  edited  at  St.  Louis,  by 
one  not  belonging  to  the  Catholic  Church.  '  Since 
the  Jesuits,'  he  writes,  '  first  established  their  excel- 
lent university  in  this  city,  they  have  been  under  the 
observing  eye  of  New  England  Protestants  of  several 
different  denominations,  and  during  these  years  have 
discovered  little  that  allowed  even  of  exceptions, 
cavil,  or  doubt.  Instead  of  being  opposed  to  civil 
liberty,  their  scholars  have  been  so  well  taught  its 
true,  generic,  and  philosophic  principles,  as  to  have 
been  able  to  deliver  orations  at  the  court-house  of  the 
county  of  surpassing  eloquence.  Instead  of  being 


304  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

enemies  to  unlimited  freedom  of  conscience,  they  are 
distinguished  over  all  clergymen  in  the  State  for  their 
systematic  observance  of  the  rule  never  to  introduce 
in  their  intercourse  with  society  any  subject  whatever 
that  is  calculated  to  wound  the  feelings  of  the  hum- 
blest person  present.' 

"  The  College,  of  which  the  corner-stone  has  just 
been  placed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Prelate,  will  rear  up 
its  walls  for  the  grand  and  noble  purposes  of  educa- 
tion :  and  education  proper  to  the  soil  and  constitution 
of  the  State  in  which  it  is  situated.  This  is  another 
munificent  deed  among  the  many  which  have  already 
rendered  dear  his  name  to  the  Catholic  Church  of 
America.  Trained  up  himself  under  the  instruction 
of  the  Jesuits,  he  knows  that  he  could  not  perform 
an  act  more  advantageous  to  his  diocese,  or  more  ser- 
viceable to  his  country,  than  to  place  this  new  College 
under  their  jurisdiction.  Sprung  from  an  American 
ancestry  in  Maryland,  which  traces  back  to  the  days 
of  Lord  Baltimore,  and  never  having  breathed  the 
atmosphere  of  Europe,  he  feels  himself,  by  nature  as 
well  as  by  preference,  eminently  devoted  to  the  inter- 
ests and  happiness  of  our  native  land.  And  he  may 
rest  consoled,  and  amply  remunerated,  in  the  reflec- 
tion, that  his  efforts  to  extend  abroad  the  blessings  of 
Education  will  be  duly  appreciated  by  our  Church, 
and  justly  applauded  by  our  common  countrv. 

"  The  Rev.  Gentleman,  to  whose  superintendence 
and  charge  the  College  is  intrusted,  derives  his  origin 
from  the  State  of  the  '  Old  Dominion.'  The  free 
mountains  of  Virginia  have  given  him  birth,  and  his 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  305 

soul  is  as  free  as  his  native  hills.  Whilst  he  prides 
himself  in  the  name  of  a  Jesuit,  he  glories  in  the  title 
and  privileges  of  an  American.  To  no  one,  in  my 
opinion,  could  the  interests  of  this  embryo  establish- 
ment with  greater  advantage  be  committed.  He 
brings  with  him  no  ordinary  experience.  During 
several  years  he  presided,  as  Rector,  over  George- 
town College ;  and  occupied,  moreover,  «for  a  time 
the  highest  post  to  which  any  member  of  the  Society 
can  be  elevated  in  Maryland. 

"  Under  such  auspices  we  cannot  but  augur  well 
for  the  future  prosperity  of  this  Institution.  The 
youth  who  will  here  be  formed  to  letters,  will,  also, 
be  moulded  into  true  Christians  and  sincere  repub- 
licans. They  will  be  taught  first  the  necessity  of 
religion,  the  practice  of  virtue,  the  maxims  of  char- 
ity ;  afterwards,  an  entire  devotion  to  the  glorious 
institutions  of  our  country.  They  will  be  instructed 
to  recognize  no  temporal  power  over  this  free  land  in 
any  foreign  authority,  whether  secular  or  ecclesiastic. 
They  will  be  taught  that  even  the  sovereign  Pontiff, 
whose  spiritual  jurisdiction,  as  Catholics,  we  admit 
and  revere,  possesses  and  claims  no  right  to  exercise 
any  sway  over  us  as  citizens  of  this  great  republic. 
That  they  must  be  ready  to  defend  the  prerogatives 
and  liberties  of  their  country  against  any  aggressor, 
no  matter  who  he  may  be.  And  while  we  constitute 
but  one  Church,  in  dogmatical  tenets,  we  are  bound 
to  embrace  all  other  communions  in  the  universal 
national  tenet  of  equal  liberty.  They  will  be  taught, 
within  these«walls,  to  give  to  God  the  things  that  are 
20 


306  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

God's,  and  to  Csesar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's. 
And  the  eternal  truth  of  this  maxim  will  be  deeply 
inculcated :  that  he  who  is  not  faithful  to  his  country, 
will  not  be  true  to  his  God. 

"  I  rejoice  in  the  occasion  which  has  assembled  us 
here  to-day.  It  has  afforded  me  a  favorable  oppor- 
tunity of  bringing  before  an  enlightened  and  numer- 
ous audience  topics  which  may  be  new  to  many,  but 
must  be  interesting  to  all.  This  is  a  bright  day  for 
the  diocese  of  Massachusetts.  It  will  be  long  remem- 
bered and  commemorated.  In  future  }'ears,  when 
the  walls  of  the  College  shall  have  grown  sombre 
with  age,  it  will  afford  matter  of  exultation  to  some 
youthful  orator,  when  he  will  refer  to  the  peculiar 
period  and  circumstances  which  mark  and  charac- 
terize this  ceremony.  '  Only  a  few  days  elapsed,'  he 
will  be  able  to  say,  '  between  two  ever  memorable 
events :  the  first  and  more  important,  the  celebration 
of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  the  second,  the  laying 
the  corner-stone  of  the  first  Jesuit  College  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts.'  The  one,  the  mighty  obe- 
lisk of  Liberty,  which  is  destined  to  endure,  more  im- 
perishable than  bronze,  throughout  all  time  ;  the  other, 
a  noble  temple  of  the  arts  and  sciences,  of  virtue  and 
patriotism,  which  will,  we  trust,  send  out  into  the 
ranks  of  life  Christians,  scholars,  freemen,  worthy 
the  shrine  at  which  they  were  reared,  and  the  repub- 
lic to  which  they  belong. 

"  All  hail,  then,  to  this  beautiful  spot,  around 
which  are  blended  the  quiet  shades  of  the  country, 
and  the  busy  population  of  the  town !  Upon  this 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  -  307 

chosen  earth,  the  spires  of  a  new  college  will  peer 
on  the  traveller's  gaze,  as  with  the  speed  of  the  wind 
he  is  hurried,  by  the  vehement  power  of  steam,  along 
those  mighty  railroads,  which,  passing  through  this 
town,  join  together,  and,  as  it  were,  annihilate,  dis- 
tances the  most  remote.  May  the  eternal  eye  of 
Providence  watch  over  its  fortunes.  Under  His  om- 
nipotent protection  it  is  commenced :  '  Unless  the 
Lord  build  the  house,  in  -vain  do  they  labor  'who 
build  it?  May  the  hopes  of  the  Right  Rev.  Prelate, 
under  whose  generous  auspices  it  is  to  be  completed, 
be  fully  and  happily  realized.  May  it  be  an  enduring 
monument  of  his  zeal  and  disinterestedness,  as  well 
as  a  signal  ornament  to  the  beauteous  and  thriving 
town  of  Worcester.  In  a  word,  my  fervent  aspira- 
tion, in  concluding,  is,  QUOD  FELIX,  FAUSTUM,  FOR- 

TUNATUMQJJE,  ET  NOSTRIS,  ET  POSTERIS,  SIT." 

"  At  two  o'clock  P.  M.  the  Bishop  and  clergy,  to- 
gether with  several  distinguished  strangers  from  Bos- 
ton and  Worcester,  sat  down  to  a  collation  prepared 
for  the  occasion  by  the  worthy  and  zealous  pastor  of 
the  Church  in  Worcester.  It  was  truly  a  feast  in  the 
evergreen  bower.  At  the  conclusion,  three  enthu- 
siastic cheers  were  given  for  the  Bishop  and  Orator 
of  the  day." 

The  College  completed,  and  students  assembled, 
the  beneficial  result  of  the  enterprise  was  soon  ac- 
knowledged, as  will  be  seen  in  the  following  article, 
which  appeared  in  the  public  press  of  1847  :  — 


308  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

"  The  College  of  Holy  Cross  has  been  in  operation 
about  three  years,  and  now  numbers  one  hundred  and 
thirty  students,  and  has  progressed  in  prosperity  be- 
yond the  expectations  of  its  most  ardent  friends.  It 
is  designed  for  Catholics  only,  and  is  calculated  for  a 
thorough  mercantile,  classical,  or  theological  educa- 
tion ;  each  of  these  may  be  had  separately,  or  any 
two  or  more  combined,  according  to  the  wishes  of  the 
parent  or  abilities  and  vocation  of  the  pupil.  Each 
department  is  under  the  superintendence  of  a  Prefect 
of  superior  education  and  great  experience,  scholars 
themselves  inferior  to  none  in  this  country,  and  what 
is  of  greater  importance,  they  are  divines,  indefati- 
gable sons  of  Saint  Ignatius  Loyola. 

"  The  course  of  studies  and  discipline  followed  in 
this  institution  is  based  upon  a  system  which  has  been 
in  successful  operation  for  three  hundred  years,  and 
has  proved  the  most  effectual,  moral,  and  intellectual 
plan  of  education  ever  devised  by  man.  The  devoted 
Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  are  celebrated  the 
world  over  for  their  learning,  wisdom,  and  piety ;  it 
is  one  of  the  principal  objects  of  their  vocation  to 
educate  the  young,  and  by  their  long  experience  and 
eminent  abilities  they  are  most  happily  fitted  for  the 
task. 

"  Since  the  first  opening  of  the  College,  the  pupils 
have  rapidly  advanced  in  the  various  studies  to  which 
they  have  been  devoted ;  some  are  fitting  for  the 
counting-house,  others  for  more  learned  occupations, 
and  again  others  for  the  holy  ministry  ;  everything 
relating  to  the  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  welfare 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  309 

of  the  students  receive  the  strictest  attention.  At  all 
hours,  night  and  day,  the  vigilant  eye  of  the  Prefect 
is  upon  them,  and  his  ears  open  to  detect  any  im- 
proper discourse  or  behavior,  as  also  to  guard  them 
against  imprudence  and  accidents ;  he  is  their  spir- 
itual guide,  their  master  in  studies,  and  their  com- 
panion in  recreation,  everything  being  admirably 
calculated  to  gain  the  respect  of  the  students,  and 
secure  their  happiness. 

"  Quarterly  reports  of  the  conduct  and  studies  of 
each  scholar  are  sent  to  the  parents  or  guardians,  and 
vearly  exhibitions  given,  at  which  appropriate  pre- 
miums are  awarded  to  the  most  deserving. 

"  This  College  is  quite  unlike  most  of  our  modern 
educational  establishments,  got  up  for  private  interest, 
or  for  promoting  selfish  notions  of  Christianity  ;  its 
professors  have  no  family  cares  or  expenses,  they 
have  no  anxiety  about  this  world's  goods,  for  they 
have  embraced  the  state  of  voluntary  poverty,  there- 
fore all  their  time  and  care  is  spent  upon  the  youth 
intrusted  to  their  direction. 

"  What  parent  is  there  who  will  not  rejoice  that 
there  is  such  an  institution  in  this  diocese,  and  that 
can,  for  a  small  pension,  place  his  son  in  charge  of 
these  devoted  teachers,  whose  only  ambition  is  to 
promote  the  greater  glory  of  God,  the  good  of  others, 
and  their  own  salvation? 

"  To  witness  the  serious  devotion  of  these  young 
men  and  boys  at  their  religious  service,  to  hear  the 
solemn  chant  of  their  sweet  voices,  to  see  them  at 
their  sports  of  fishing  and  bathing  in  summer,  or 


3IO  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

skating  in  winter,  their  cheerful  and  healthy  aspect, 
and  their  habits  of  easy  and  respectful  submission  to 
their  superiors,  one  cannot  but  feel  that  true  piety  is 
the  foundation,  and  parental  care  with  filial  obedience 
the  superstructure  of  this  institution." 


MISSION  STATIONS. 

While  the  railroad  was  in  progress,  our  Mission- 
ary, at  that  time  still  guardian  of  the  interests  of  the 
Seminary,  in  which  were  students  from  Texas  to 
Maine,  had  frequently  to  offer  the  holy  Sacrifice  in 
shanties,  where  the  largest  number  of  workmen  could 
be  accommodated,  or  in  the  absence  of  such,  under 
some  wide-spreading  tree  of  the  forest. 

The  most  numerous  congregation  of  resident  Cath- 
olics in  any  one  town  east  of  Worcester,  attended  at 
the  time,  were  at  Waltham,  where  there  were  about 
three  hundred.  Saxonville,  the  next  important  sta- 
tion, where  several  were  employed  in  the  factories, 
had  mass  once  every  two  or  three  months,  the  liber- 
ality of  the  citizens  allowing  the  use  of  the  school- 
house  on  such  occasions  till  land  was  secured  for  a 
church  and  cemetery.  Westboro',  Grafton,  and  Mill- 
bury  were  the  next  principal  stations,  where,  however, 
there  were  very  few  resident  members  of  the  Church, 
save  those  employed  at  Millbury.  The  rest,  with  their 
families,  were  employed  either  as  farm  laborers  or 
brogan  makers,  to  whom  for  the  pegging  of  five 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  3!  I 

pairs,  considered  enough  for  a  day's  work,  one  dollar 
was  paid,  the-  average  income  for  house  rent,  fuel, 
clothing,  support  of  wife,  and,  generally  speaking,  a 
goodly  number  of  healthful  little  ones,  who,  by  the 
by,  with  simplicity  of  early  diet  and  regimen  have, 
with  time,  advanced  to  manhood,  and  are  now  com- 
bined with  the  thousands  of  boot  and  shoe  manufac- 
turers who  make  up  the  flourishing  congregations  of 
Milford,  Marlboro',  Hopkinton,  Natick,  and  neigh- 
boring towns. 

Accompanying  the  building  of  the  railroad  from 
Worcester  west,  stations  were  held  at  Spencer, 
Brookfield,  Warren,  Palmer,  and  so  onwards  wher- 
ever laborers  and  their  families  had  taken  up  their 
residence  for  the  time  being.  Clappville,  where  a 
few  Catholics  were  employed  in  the  mills,  whether 
of  cotton  or  woollen,  Ware,  Barre,  Templeton, 
Thorndike,  Springfield,  Chicopee,  Hadley,  Thomp- 
sonville,  Westfield,  Northampton,  Amherst,  Barring- 
ton,  and  other  towns  east  and  west  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River,  had  been  frequently  visited  by  the  Mission- 
ary, both  previous  to  leaving  Hartford,  and  after 
having  selected  Worcester  as  his  headquarters,  as  in 
most  of  those  places,  where  there  are  now  churches 
and  large  congregations,  Catholics  had  already  found 
employment,  and  had  settled  with  their  families,  and 
needed  the  Sacraments  and  holy  Mass,  and  their 
little  ones,  particularly,  catechetical  instruction. 

After  the  example  of  the  primitive  Christians,  the 
few  who  were  found  at  these  several  stations  met 
together  for  divine  worship  and  reception  of  the 


312  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

sacraments  in  private  houses,  as  their  numbers  were 
yet  too  few  and  their  means  too  limited  to  contem- 
plate the  erection  of  churches ;  since  which  days, 
however,  of  simplicity  and  fervor,  and  with  increased 
numbers,  many  are  the  churches  that  have  been 
erected,  and  among  them  are  many  beautiful,  exten- 
sive, and  even  magnificent,  —  the  spacious,  ornate, 
and  Gothic  stone  edifice  at  Pittsfield,  by  Rev.  Fr. 
Edward  Purcell ;  that  at  Ghicopee,  by  Rev.  Fr.  W. 
A.  Blenkinsop  ;  and  without  attempting  an  enumera- 
tion, the  Church  of  St.  Michael,  at  Springfield,  which 
was  erected  by  the  devoted  zeal  and  indefatigable 
energy  of  the  lamented  Fr.  Gallaher,  seconded  by  a 
united  congregation,  by  whom  he  was  beloved,  —  and 
which,  at  this  day,  is  the  Cathedral  of  the  Diocese. 


CHURCH  AT  SPRINGFIELD. 

The  present  large  and  influential  body  of  Catholics 
at  Springfield  were  represented,  in  1830,  by  three 
families  and  a  few  unmarried  men,  who  were  visited 
by  the  Missionary,  in  connection  with  the  few  living 
at  Thompsonville,  Westfield,  Chicopee,  and  other 
river  towns,  once  every  two  or  three  months,  as  cir- 
cumstances permitted,  when  Mass  was  offered,  and 
the  Holy  Sacraments  administered,  in  whatever  house 
was  found  to  be  the  most  convenient. 

Springfield,  which  had  always  been  one  of  the 
most  flourishing  towns  in  Massachusetts,  where  the 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  313 

Armory  of  the  United  States  has  been  established  as 
early  as  1795,  and  where  many  elegant  private  resi- 
dences, as  well  as  public  buildings,  highly  creditable 
to  the  tastes  of  its  inhabitants,  had  been  erected,  like 
Worcester,  with  the  construction  of  the  Western 
Railroad,  received  a  powerful  impetus,  and  from  its 
delightful,  pleasing,  and  village-like  character  became 
in  a  few  years  the  mart  of  commerce,  assuming  the 
business-like  proportions  of  a  city. 

The  faithful,  whose  numbers  increased  with  the 
prosperity  of  the  place,  and  whose  spiritual  wants 
had  been  hitherto  attended  from  Hartford,  —  the 
cradle-Church  of  the  Connecticut  valley,  —  concluded, 
with  the  approbation  of  the  Bishop,  to  provide  them- 
selves with  a  more  convenient  place  to  assemble  for 
divine  worship  than  they  had  previously  had  in  pri- 
vate houses.  Fortunately,  about  the  time  when  their 
numbers  had  so  far  increased  as  to  warrant  the  un- 
dertaking, the  Baptist  society  proposed  the  sale  of 
their  frame  building,  which  was  in  excellent  repair, 
measuring  seventy  by  forty -five  feet.  The  Bishop, 
upon  invitation,  visiting  Springfield  October  15,  1846, 
approved  the  purchase,  and  selected  a  site  to  which 
the  building  might  be  removed,  appointing  Rev. 
George  T.  Riordan  to  superintend  the  alterations 
necessary  for  the  purpose  of  Catholic  worship,  and 
act  as  pastor  to  the  congregation. 

Lieutenant  Scammon,  of  the  U.  S.  army,  a  convert 
to  Catholicity,  with  several  of  his  brother  officers,  who, 
while  students  at  West  Point,  were  taught  to  accept 
of  no  mathematical  problem  that  admitted  not  of 


314  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

demonstration,  with  judgment  matured,  and  in  man- 
hood, sought  for  the  evidence  and  divine  proofs  of 
Christianity.  Perceiving  that  "  prayer  and  searching 
the  Scriptures,"  as  counselled  by  ministers  of  the  day, 
led  invariably  to  sectarianism  and  diversity  of  opin- 
ion, and  having  learned  that  there  was  but  <k  one 
church,  one  faith,  one  baptism,"  they  were  prompted, 
in  connection  with  prayer  and  reading  the  Scripture, 
to  trace  the  history  of  the  Christian  religion  to  its 
fountain  source,  and,  discovering  that  the  Catholic 
Church  of  to-day  taught  the  same  doctrine  as  in  the 
apostolic  age,  and  had  every  demonstrative  evidence 
of  its  divine  authenticity,  they  joyfully  embraced  it. 
About  the  time  of  which  we  write,  there  were  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty  gallant  officers  of  the  arm}'  and 
navy,  many  among  them  converts  to  the  Church, 
who  were  united  in  the  Sodality  of  the  "  Sacred 
Heart,"  of  which  General  Rosecrans  was  Promoter. 

The  sanctuary-of  the  late  purchased  church  edi- 
fice, with  its  altar  and  tabernacle  arranged  with  taste 
and  beauty,  after  the  design  of  Lieutenant  Scammon, 
having  been  completed,  the  church  was  dedicated  to 
God  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  under  the  pat- 
ronage of  St.  Benedict,  February  14,  1847.  Rev.  Fr. 
Ryder,  President  of  Holy  Cross  College,  preached 
on  the  occasion  to  a  large  audience,  drawn  together 
either  from  curiosity  to  witness  what  they  had  never 
had  the  opportunity  of  looking  upon  before,  or  to 
give  grateful  thanks  to  God  for  the  blessings  of  a 
house  of  worship  they  could  count  their  own,  and 
where  they  might  assemble,  after  their  weekly  toil,  to 


DIOCESE    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  315 

hear  the  word  of  God,  and  bow  in  adoration  at  the 
mystic  sacrifice  of  Calvary,  the  Holy  Mass. 

The  following,  which  appeared  in  the  public 
press,  tells  the  joy  evinced  on  the  occasion:  — 

"  SPRINGFIELD,  February  15,  1847. 

"  Last  Sunday  was  a  proud  day  for  the  Catholics 
of  Springfield.  Though  numbering  about  four  hun- 
dred, hitherto  we  had  no  home  for  the  worship  of 
our  faith.  At  one  time  in  an  humble  cabin,  at  an- 
other in  the  common  town-hall,  we  assisted  at  the 
holy  mysteries,  praying  for  the  day  when  our  means 
would  enable  us  to  raise  aloft  the  banner  of  the  cross, 
and  under  our  own  roof  to  sing  the  praises  of  God. 
Like  the  Israelites  of  old,  we  wept  in  the  land  of 
exile,  and  sighed  for  the  termination  of  our  bondage. 
And  now  that  day  has  come,  and  for  the  first  time  a 
permanent  altar  has  been  erected  in  our  midst,  and 
we  raise  our  eyes  with  gratitude  and  love  to  behold 
the  cross,  the  emblem  of  our  redemption. 

"  The  church  where  now  we  worship,  originally  a 
Protestant  meeting-house,  was  yesterday  solemnly 
dedicated  to  Almighty  God,  under  the  invocation 
of  the  blessed  Mother  of  God,  and  St.  Benedict,  by 
the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  of  the  diocese.  .  .  .  Our 
Protestant  neighbors  never  before  had  seen  a  Catholic 
dedication.  They  mingled  with  us,  and  by  their 
respectful  demeanor,  showed  that  they  partook  of 
our  joy.  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Fitzpatrick  officiated, 
assisted  by  Rev.  Fr.  Riordan,  our  estimable  Pastor, 
and  Rev.  Messrs.  Brady,  of  Cabotville,  and  O'Brien 


316  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

and  Williams,  of  Boston.  The  solemn  chant  of  the 
Miserere,  the  invocation  of  the  blessed  Saints  of  God, 
the  presence  of  the  Pontiff,  the  solemn  benediction, 
not  only  of  the  place,  but  of  the  assembled  people, 
have  made  here  a  deep  and  vivid  impression.  And 
this  feeling  of  respect  for  our  faith,  of  awe  and  love 
for  sacred  mysteries,  was  increased  by  the  eloquent 
discourse  of  Very  Rev.  Dr.  Ryder,  President  of  the 
College  of  Holy  Cross.  The  learned  divine  chose 
for  the  subject  of  his  sermon  the  Sacrifice  of  the 
Mass,  proving  from  the  Scriptures  the  necessity  of  a 
sacrifice  in  worship,  as  ordered  by  Almighty  God ; 
showing  also,  from  moral  and  theological  reasons, 
that  the  whole  ceremony  of  the  Christian  religion 
demands  a  sacrifice,  and  that  the  prophecies  can  be 
verified  only  by  admitting  in  the  Mass  a  true,  though 
unbloody  sacrifice,  wherein  Jesus  Christ,  God  and 
man,  offers  himself  anew  to  the  Father,  a  victim  of 
propitiation  for  the  sins  of  men. 

"  The  singing  was  conducted  by  Rev.  Mr.  O'Brien, 
assisted  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Riordan  and  Williams,  and 
a  young  gentleman  of  the  College  of  the  Holy  Cross, 
named  Crowley.  It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  bet- 
ter choir." 


CHURCH  AT  CHICOPEE. 

The  early  Church  history  of  this,  like  that  of  many 
towns  and  villages  of  New  England,  commences 
with  the  toil  and  untiring  industry  of  Ireland's  exiled 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  317 

sons,  who  were  employed  at  the  excavations  of  ca- 
nals, and  other  important  labors  that  have  since 
brought  wealth  and  prosperity  to  thousands.  The 
few  Catholics  who  were  employed  in  the  construction 
of  the  canal,  of  what  is  now  the  flourishing  manufac- 
turing town  of  Chicopee,  were  attended  by  our  Mis- 
sionary as  early  as  1830.  The  boarding-house,  a 
temporary  building,  which  stood  near  to  the  river 
bank,  where  the  dam  is  now  constructed,  —  the  only 
building  in  the  place,  save  the  grist-mill  and  home  of 
the  miller,  —  served  for  chapel,  and  all  other  purposes. 
The  Cabot  Manufacturing  Company  being  incorpo- 
rated in  1832,  an  impetus  was  given  to  the  erection 
of  mills,  and  dwellings  for  the  operatives,  and  soon 
a  beautiful,  flourishing  town  arose,  giving  employment 
to  its  thousands  of  mechanics  and  mill  operatives. 

The  faithful,  who  in  1830  numbered  thirty  souls, 
having  in  ten  years  increased  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  a  church  was  projected  for  their  accommoda- 
tion. Rev.  John  D.  Brady,  who  then  attended  this 
station,  in  connection  with  Pittsfiekl  and  other  towns 
west  of  the  Connecticut  River,  encouraged  by  the 
promised  assistance  of  this  noble  little  band,  com- 
menced in  1841  the  erection  of  what  subsequently 
was  St.  Matthew's  Church,  which  was  blessed  by  the 
Bishop,  September  29,  1843.  Rev.  B.  O'Cavanagh 
was  appointed  as  an  assistant  to  Rev.  Fr.  Brady  in 
1845,  and  these  gentlemen  continued  to  attend  alter- 
nately Chicopee  and  other  stations  till  1848,  when 
Rev.  Fr.  Strain  was  appointed  to  the  pastoral  cure 
of  the  risinjr  congregation. 


318  SKETCHES,    ETC. 


CHURCH  AT  NORTHAMPTON. 

The  earliest  reminiscence  we  have  of  the  rites  of 
religion  being  performed  in  the  western  part  of  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  was  within  the  prison  walls 
of  Northampton,  where  two  young  men  therein  con- 
fined were  doomed  to  execution.  Among  the  papers 
of  Cardinal  Cheverus,  writes  his  biographer,  Rev. 
J.  Huen  Dubourg,  there  are  letters  in  which  these 
young  men  say,  "  We  adore,  in  the  judgment  of  men 
liable  to  be  deceived,  the  decrees  of  Providence.  If 
we  are  not  guilty  of  the  crime  imputed  to  us,  we  have 
committed  other  sins,  and  to  expiate  them,  we  accept 
death  with  resignation.  We  are  solicitous  only  about 
our  salvation  ;  it  is  in  your  hands ;  come  to  our  as- 
sistance." It  being  then  the  custom  to  conduct  con- 
victs to  church  to  hear  a  funeral  discourse  immedi- 
ately before  their  execution,  a  second  letter  was 
addressed  to  M.  Cheverus,  praying  him  to  deliver 
this  discourse.  "  It  will  be  a  painful  task  for  you," 
said  they  to  him,  "  after  the  fatigue  of  a  long  journey, 
and  especially  after  the  sad  impression  made  on  your 
heart  by  the  sight  of  two  young  men  about  to  die,  in 
the  bloom  of  youth ;  but  you  will  not  refuse  us  this 
favor,  and  reduce  us  to  the  necessity  of  listening,  just 
before  we  die,  to  the  voice  of  one  who  is  not  a  Cath- 
olic." However  painful  this  twofold  duty  might  be 
to  the  feeling  heart  of  M.  Cheverus,  he  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  undertake  it,  and  promptly  acceded  to  their 
request.  Hatred  to  the  Catholic  religion  was  carried 


DIOCESE    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  319 

to  such  an  extreme  in  Northampton,  that  it  was  with 
the  greatest  difficulty  he  could  find  lodgings,  no  one 
being  willing  to  receive  him.  He  passed  many  days 
in  the  prison  with  the  condemned  :  he  compassion- 
ated their  condition,  and  persuaded  them  to  look  on 
death  in  the  light  of  the  gospel,  as  an  entrance  upon 
a  better  life,  and  the  gate  of  true  happiness.  These 
instructions,  and  the  sacraments  which  he  adminis- 
tered to  them,  inspired  them  with  such  holy  disposi- 
tions of  soul,  that  the  last  moments  of  life  lost,  in 
their  view,  all  the  terrors  with  which  they  affright 
unassisted  nature ;  and  they  looked  on  the  approach 
of  death  not  only  without  distress,  but  with  calmness, 
serenity,  and  celestial  joy.  M.  Cheverus  alone  was 
overcome  with  grief,  his  heart  overpressed  with  pity  ; 
and  those  whom  he  had  come  to  console  became 
themselves  his  comforters.  "  O  father,"  said  they  to 
him,  "  moderate  your  grief,  or  it  will  make  you  ill." 
At  length  the  fatal  day  arrived ;  and,  as  this  day 
seemed  to  these  men  so  full  of  faith,  like  the  dawn 
of  a  festal  day,  the}'  wished,  at  the  time  of  their  exe- 
cution, to  appear  clean  and  decent,  and  asked  for  a 
razor,  to  shave  themselves.  It  was,  at  first,  refused 
them ;  but,  upon  M.  Cheverus's  pledging  his  word 
that  they  should  not  attempt  their  lives,  their  request 
was  granted.  At  the  hour  appointed,  M.  Cheverus 
went  with  them,  and  all  the  funeral  train,  to  the 
church.  There  the  Protestant  ministers  wished  to 
pronounce  the  usual  discourse ;  but  M.  Cheverus 
opposed  this  with  force  and  energy.  "  The  will  of 
the  dying,"  he  said  to  them,  "  is  sacred  ;  and  they 


320  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

have  desired  to  have  no  one  but  myself,  and  I  alone 
will  speak  to  them."  He  immediately  ascended  the 
pulpit,  and,  casting  his  eyes  upon  the  immense 
crowd  that  surrounded  him,  and  beholding  a  great 
multitude  of  women,  who  had  come  from  every 
direction  to  be  present  at  the  execution,  he  felt  him- 
self animated  with  holy  indignation  against  the  curi- 
osity which  had  attracted  to  that  mournful  scene  such 
a  crowd  of  spectators.  "  Orators,"  cried  he,  in  a 
loud  and  stern  voice,  "  are  usually  flattered  by  having 
a  numerous  audience,  but  I  am  ashamed  of  the  one 
now  before  me.  .  .  .  Are  there,  then,  men  to 
whom  the  death  of  their  fellow-beings  is  a  spectacle 
of  pleasure,  an  object  of  curiosity !  .  .  But 
you,  especially,  O  women !  what  has  induced  you  to 
come  to  this  place?  Is  it  to  wipe  away  the  cold 
damps  of  death  that  trickle  down  the  faces  of  these 
unfortunate  men?  Is  it  to  experience  the  painful 
emotions  which  this  scene  ought  to  inspire  in  every 
feeling  heart?  No,  it  is  not  for  this.  It  is,  then,  to 
behold  their  anguish,  and  to  look  upon  it  with  tear- 
less, eager,  and  longing  eyes.  Ah  !  I  blush  for  you  ; 
your  eyes  are  full  of  murder.  .  .  .  You  boast  of 
possessing  sensibility,  and  you  say  it  is  the  highest 
virtue  in  woman  ;  but  if  the  sufferings  of  others  afford 
you  pleasure,  and  the  death  of  a  man  is  an  inviting 
entertainment  for  your  curiosity,  I  can  no  longer  be- 
lieve in  your  virtue.  You  forget  your  sex  ;  you  are 
a  dishonor  and  reproach  to  it."  The  execution  took 
place  immediately  after  the  discourse,  but  not  a 
woman  dared  to  appear  at  it ;  all  retired  from  the 


DIOCESE   OF    SPRINGFIELD.  32! 

church  ashamed  of  themselves,  and  blushing  for  the 
inhuman  curiosity  that  had  brought  them  there. 

The  audience,  being  much  interested  in  the  dis- 
course of  M.  Cheverus,  wished  to  hear  him  again  ; 
and  he  yielded  to  their  wishes.  He  preached  several 
times  in  public  ;  he  conversed  with  them  in  private, 
and  took  advantage  of  every  opportunity  to  remove 
their  prejudices  against  the  Catholic  religion,  and  to 
show  them  how  reasonable  were  its  doctrines,  and 
how  holy,  pure,  and  lovely  was  its  morality.  Many 
among  them,  struck  by  the  touching  spectacle  pre- 
sented by  the  holy  resignation  of  the  two  young 
Irishmen,  when  about  to  be  executed,  and  thinking 
it  incredible  that  guilty  men  should  possess  such  a 
modest  and  calm  assurance  in  the  presence  of  death, 
begged  M.  Cheverus  to  tell  them,  as  in  confession  he 
had  acquired  a  more  perfect  knowledge  of  the  facts, 
whether  these  two  young  men  were  really  innocent. 
M.  Cheverus  promised  to  give,  in  his  next  discourse, 
the  only  reply  it  was  possible  for  him  to  make  to  this 
question  ;  and,  in  fact,  happy  in  the  opportunity  of 
speaking  in  defence  of  Catholic  truth  before  a  large 
concourse  of  hearers  whom  curiosity  had  collected, 
he  developed,  with  force  and  clearness,  the  doctrine 
of  the  Church  respecting  confession  ;  spoke  of  its 
divine  institution,  its  important  advantages,  and  the 
inviolable  secrecy  imposed  upon  the  confessor,  which 
he  cannot  break,  even  to  save  a  kingdom.  The 
Protestants  were  so  much  pleased  with  this  discourse 
of  M.  Cheverus,  and  with  the  interesting  character 
of  his  private  conversation,  that  they  wished  him  to 
21 


^22  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

remain  with  them  ;  and  he  found  almost  as  much 
difficulty  in  parting  from  them,  as  he  had  in  procuring 
a  shelter  on  his  first  arrival. 

We  have  taken  the  liberty  to  transcribe  this  inci- 
dent in  the  mission  life  of  Cardinal  de  Cheverus,  in 
corroboration  of  the  fact  that  the  life  of  many  an 
innocent  man  has  been  sacrificed  upon  mere  circum- 
stantial evidence ;  that  many  a  good  and  honest  man 
has  been  condemned  upon  mere  surmise  of  igno- 
rance, prejudice,  or  malevolence.  We  knew  in  boy- 
hood days,  and  in  our  childish  heart  sympathized 
with,  the  widowed  mother  of  one  of  these  young 
men,  whom  we  often  saw  kneeling  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  in  the  Cathedral  of  Franklin  Street,  where  she 
often  went  to  pour  forth  the  sorrows  of  her  heart, 
and  seek  consolation  in  her  declining  years.  She 
has  long  since  left  this  world,  to  meet  in  heaven,  we 
trust,  her  dearly-loved  boy,  the  support  of  her  de- 
clining years.  Long  years  after  the  above  sad  event, 
while  a  Missionary  in  the  same  part  of  the  State 
where  the  execution  took  place,  we  heard,  "  as  mur- 
der will  out,"  of  a  certain  native-born,  who,  when 
dying,  confessed  that  he  was  the  murderer  of  the 
"  mail  carrier,"  for  whose  death  the  two  young  Irish- 
men were  executed  at  Northampton.  We  called 
upon  the  jailer,  an  aged  man  at  the  time,  to  learn 
whether  he  had  heard  of  the  circumstance,  and  his 
reply  was,  quite  unconcernedly,  "  Yes,  he  had  heard 
something  about  it." 

And  this  reminds  us  of  another  event,  which 
shows  how  very  cautious  we  should  be  in  speaking 


DIOCESE    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  323 

or  judging  of  what  we  consider  the  faults  of  others, 
and  especially  in  condemning  others  on  mere  hear- 
say or  circumstantial  evidence.  Four  laborers  were 
employed  ditching  the  swamp  meadow  of  a  Prot- 
estant minister.  After  their  day's  labor  and  supper 
were  over,  one  of  the  four,  examining  the  roll  of  bills 
he  had  saved,  —  eighty  dollars,  —  the  result  of  his 
hard  toil  for  months  on  the  Western  Railroad,  where 
the  four  had  last  worked,  and  finding  all  safe,  put  the 
amount,  nicely  rolled  up,  into  his  watch-pocket.  All 
retired,  at  bed  time,  to  sleep  in  the  same  room.  To 
their  alarm,  next  morning  the  money  was  missing. 
The  minister,  much  disturbed  in  mind  that  he  should 
have  harbored  thieves  in  his  house,  had  the  four 
arraigned  for  examination,  and  the  theft,  upon  mere 
surmise,  was  fastened  upon  one  of  the  four,  and  he 
consequently  was  condemned.  We  visited  him  in 
his  prison  cell,  and  he  declared  his  innocence.  We 
saw  him  on  his  dying  bed,  and  he  still  protested  his 
innocence.  Time  passed  on,  and  what  was  our  sur- 
prise to  learn,  twelve  months  after  the  death  of  the 
one  suspected  and  condemned,  that  the  money 
counted  on  the  table,  in  the  face  of  all  in  the  room, 
was  purloined  that  night  by  one  who  knew  the 
chamber  well  where  the  laborers  slept,  and  who,  in 
the  dead  of  night,  had  been  the  thief!  —  a  young 
man  of  eighteen,  the  son  of  the  minister. 

Let  us  be  slow  to  hear,  and  slow  to  speak  of  each 
other's  faults,  lest,  erring  in  judgment,  we  falsely  sus- 
pect, rashly  judge,  and  unjustly  condemn  our  inno- 
cent brother. 

The  lot  upon  which  the  church  at  Northampton 


324  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

was  erected  by  Rev.  John  D.  Brady,  in  1844,  had 
been  secured  by  the  Missionary  as  early  as  1834,  at 
which  time  the  faithful  were  so  very  few,  that  they 
were  accustomed  to  assemble  for  divine  worship  in 
the  private  house  of  a  very  worthy  Catholic  family 
by  the  name  of  Foley,  at  a  place  called  Straw  Hol- 
low, now  Leeds,  a  small  manufacturing  village,  mid- 
way between  Northampton  and  Williamsburg.  The 
congregation  now  at  Northampton,  with  its  sur- 
roundings, Hatfield,  Hadley,  and  Florence,  numbers 
about  one  thousand  souls.  The  present  zealous  pas- 
tor of  Northampton,  Rev.  P.  V.  Moyce,  with  the 
assistance  of  his  devoted  people,  has  erected  two 
very  neat  and  commodious  churches,  one  at  Hayden- 
ville,  another  at  Easthampton,  and  a  third  at  Am- 
herst,  where  the  Missionary,  in  his  day,  had  three 
families  only  to  attend. 

Such  has  been  the  cheering  increase  of  the  true 
faith  in  the  Connecticut  Valley !  If  we  were  not 
confined,  as  we  are  in  these  Sketches,  to  speak  only 
of  the  early  establishment  of  the  Church,  we  might 
add  some  description  of  the  many  beautiful  and  com- 
modious edifices,  with  their  crowded  congregations, 
that  have  since  been  erected,  and  we  might  speak  of 
the  thousands  who  are  now  enjoying  the  blessings  of 
religion,  from  Saybrook,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
to  the  border  line  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont ; 
of  such  are  the  churches  at  Portland,  Windsor,  Thomp- 
sonville,  Deerfield,  Enfield,  Hadley,  Holyoke,  Long- 
meadow,  Mittineague,  and  others  ;  but  these  we  leave 
to  the  future  historian,  while  we  confine  ourselves  to 
the  small  beginnings  of  other  days. 


DIOCESE  OF  SPRINGFIELD.  325 

CHURCHES  WEST  OF  THE  CONNECTICUT  RIVER. 

The  excavation  of  the  Westfield  Canal,  which 
was  made  between  1828  and  1830,  added  materially 
to  the  population  of  the  town.  A  number  of  me- 
chanics and  laborers  having  been  employed  upon  the 
above  work,  a  majority  of  whom  being  Catholics, 
were  attended  by  our  Missionary.  There  being  nei- 
ther house  nor  shanty  capacious  enough  to  accommo- 
date the  congregation,  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  Mass  was 
offered  on  a  temporary  altar,  erected  under  the  shade 
of  the  trees,  the  nearest  residence  serving  the  purpose 
of  confessional.  The  canal  completed,  there  re- 
mained but  few  Catholics  in  the  village,  and  these 
were  attended  from  time  to  time,  when  Mass  was 
offered  and  the  sacraments  administered  at  the  private 
residence  of  some  one  of  the  early  settlers.  Acces- 
sions in  time  being  made  to  the  few,  who  found 
ample  accommodations  for  divine  worship  in  the 
room  of  a  private  house  as  mentioned,  when  attended 
by  Rev.  W.  Blenkinsop,  pastor  of  Chicopee,  in 
1854,  it  was  suggested  that  they  should  build  a  small 
church  for  themselves,  where  they,  and  such  as  had 
families,  might  assemble  on  Sundays  for  mutual  edi- 
fication and  prayer,  even  in  the  absence  of  a  clergy- 
man. To  which  suggestion  Messrs.  P.  O'Keefe, 
J.  Phillips,  P.  Reilly,  C.  Donevan,  W.  Sullivan,  and 
others  cheerfully  corresponded,  and  a  frame  building 
was  commenced,  and  so  far  completed  as  to  serve 
the  purpose  of  divine  worship  the  year  following. 


326  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Rev.  Fr.  Gallaher,  of  Springfield,  the  distance 
between  the  two  places  being  more  direct,  succeeded 
Father  Blenkinsop,  visited  Westfield  monthly,  and 
encouraged  the  interior  finish  of  the  church.  The 
first  reverend  gentleman  appointed  as  resident  pastor 
was  Rev.  M.  X.  Carroll,  in  1862.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1868,  by  Rev.  D.  Miglionico,  who  en- 
larged the  church,  introduced  a  sweet-toned  organ, 
and  otherwise  beautified  the  building,  and  added  a 
very  convenient  and  comfortable  parochial  residence. 

From  Westfield  to  the  State  line  there  were  very 
few  Catholics  previous  to  the  construction  of  the 
railroad,  though  Mass  had  been  said  by  our  Mission- 
ary as  far  west  as  Great  Barrington,  and  the  villages 
of  Berkshire  County,  as  early  as  1832. 

The  only  church,  previous  to  1855,  claimed  by  the 
Catholics,  as  a  place  of  worship,  between  Westfield 
and  the  State  line,  and  that  a  veiy  small  frame  build- 
ing, was  at  Pittsfield,  which  was  built  in  1845  by 
Rev.  J.  D.  Brady,  of  Chicopee,  but  since  which  time, 
however,  Catholicity  has  spread  over  mountains  and 
valleys  most  wonderfully,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  sub- 
joined condensed  report  of  Rev.  Frs.  P.  Cuddihy  and 
E.  H.  Purcell,  who  have  been  specially  blessed  in 
their  untiring  efforts  for  the  greater  glory  of  God 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  those  intrusted  to  their  care. 

The  church  at  Pittsfield,  in  1853,  about  the  time 
these  Reverend  Fathers  entered  upon  their  labors, 
appeared  to  be  large  enough  for  some  years  to  come  ; 
but  soon  an  emigration  set  in,  and  so  much  so  that 
Rev.  Fr.  Cuddihy  was  obliged,  the  second  year  of  his 


DIOCESE    OF    SPRINGFIELD.  327 

pastorship,  to  enlarge  the  church.  About  the  same 
time  the  Catholics  of  North  Adams  purchased  the 
church  formerly  belonging  to  the  Methodist  society 
for  their  special  use.  The  next  Church  or  congrega- 
tion was  formed  at  Great  Barrington,  about  the  year 
1855.  The  church  at  North  Lee  was  built  in  1856. 
The  church  at  Hinsdale  was  built  in  1859,  and  that 
at  Stockbridge  the  same  year.  The  church  at  Mill 
River  was  built  in  1866,  and  the  new  church  at  Pitts- 
field,  a  splendid  stone  edifice,  was  erected  by  Rev. 
Fr.  Purcell  in  1867.  The  church  at  North  Adams 
—  another  beautiful  church  —  was  built  in  1868,  and 
the  church  at  Williamstown  was  purchased  in  1869. 
The  church  at  Cheshire  was  built  in  1869,  and  the 
church  at  South  Adams  was  purchased  and  dedicated 
in  1870,  and  the  church  at  West  Stockbridge  was 
completed  in  1871  ;  all  which  gives  us  a  partial  view 
how  our  holy  religion  has  flourished  during  the  past 
twenty  years,  there  being  now,  as  we  perceive, 
twelve  churches,  where  a  few  years  ago  there  was 
but  one. 

The  towns  north  and  south  of  Worcester,  in  their 
growth  and  temporal  prosperity,  have  been  also 
blessed  spiritually.  In  the  Observer,  of  March  15, 
1848,  we  learn  that  "the  Catholics  of  Fitchburg, 
under  the  guidance  of  Rev.  M.  Gibson,  have  bought 
a  lot  of  land,  whereon  they  intend  to  erect  a  church. 
The  lot,  which  is  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square, 
commands  a  view  of  the  whole  town.  Their  means 
not  permitting  them  as  yet  to  erect  a  brick  building, 
they  have  determined  for  the  present  to  put  up  a 


328  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

frame  church.  Mr.  Cahill,  with  his  usual  generosity, 
has  kindly  given  for  that  purpose  ten  thousand  feet 
of  lumber.  Messrs.  Crocker  and  Mansur,  both  Prot- 
estants, have  also  contributed  veiy  liberally  to  the 
good  work."  We  learn  from  the  same  paper  that 
"  the  corner-stone  of  the  new  church,  under  the  invo- 
cation of  St.  Bernard,  was  laid  the  8th  of  October, 
1848  ;  on  which  occasion  a  choir  from  Boston  sang 
one  of  Dementi's  Masses,  and  the  sermon,  appropri- 
ate to  the  occasion,  was  preached  by  Rev.  N.  J. 
O'Brien." 

Uxbridge,  Blackstone,  Waterford,  Woonsocket, 
and  other  manufacturing  towns  were  attended  from 
Worcester,  both  previous  to  and  after  the  construction 
of  the  railroad  to  Providence.  This  latter  enterprise 
gave  an  impetus  to  mechanism  in  many  a  village, 
and  Catholics  found  employment,  and  were  very  gen- 
erally esteemed,  not  precisely  because  they  were 
attached  to  their  religion,  and  were  up  long  before 
bell  hours  when  they  had  opportunities  for  mass  or 
confession,  but  because  they  were  always  at  their 
post,  and  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  their  several 
avocations. 

Among  the  female  operatives,  in  particular,  it  might 
happen,  if  a  day's  rest  was  thought  needful,  or  a  little 
recreation  necessary,  there  was  aunt  Mahitable  not 
far  off,  or  cousin  Matilda,  to  be  visited,  and  the  loom 
was  left  idle  ;  while  the  Catholic  girl,  far  from  home, 
had  none  to  associate  with  save  those  who,  like  her- 
self, were  at  their  daily  toil  from  Monday  morning 
till  Saturday  night.  The  proprietors  of  the  factories, 


DIOCESE   OF   SPRING  FIELD.  329 

as  a  matter  of  course,  knew  and  felt  where  their  in- 
terest lay  ;  and  the  result  is  seen  in  the  crowded  con- 
gregations of  the  Blackstone  Valley. 

Prejudice  there  was,  and  deep,  before  this  was 
accomplished.  To  illustrate :  An  additional  canal 
was  to  be  opened  at  a  certain  facto ry  village  where  a 
Catholic  had  never  been  seen,  and  the  agent,  in  pur* 
suit  of  laborers,  introduced  two  hardy  sons  of  old 
Ireland,  who  took  their  meals  at  the  ordinary  board- 
ing-house table,  but  when  night  came,  not  a  place 
was  there  for  them  to  sleep  ;  and  the  reason  assigned 
by  the  landlady  was,  when  questioned  by  the  agent, 
who  knew  that  there  were  ample  accommodations, 
that  they  were  filthy.  They  travelled  two  miles 
after  their  day's  labor,  that  night,  to  find  a  lodging- 
place.  Prejudice  alone  was  the  cause.  They  were 
Irishmen  and  Catholics ;  and  that  was  sufficient  for 
the  landlady  and  her  Protestant  fellow-boarders,  who, 
as  it  was  learned,  threatened  to  leave  if  Irishmen 
were  admitted.  But  now  to  the  sequel.  Two  years 
from  that  day  the  factory  was  completed,  and  in  full 
operation,  and  the  Missionary,  learning  that  a  few 
Catholics  were  there  employed,  deemed  it  advisable 
to  stay  over  night,  and  give  them  Mass  the  next 
morning.  So  he  commenced,  as  usual,  hearing  con- 
fessions, after  the  bell  had  rung,  and  the  day's  work 
over,  and  continued  his  labor  till  the  last  penitent 
was  heard,  when,  thinking  it  was  time  for  supper,  he 
was  quite  surprised  by  the  good  Catholic  house- 
keeper's saying,  if  he  intended  having  Mass  before  it 
was  time  for  the  boys  and  girls  to  go  to  work,  that 


33°  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

he  had  better  wait  a  little  longer,  as  it  was  midnight 
—  past  twelve  o'clock !  Such  has  been  the  spread 
of  Catholicity  in  many  a  factory  village. 


CHURCHES  AT  MILLBURY  AND  GRAFTON. 

The  churches  in  these  towns  were  commenced  by 
Rev.  M.  W.  Gibson,  in  July,  1850,  and  dedicated 
the  following  year.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Frs. 
L'Eveque,  E.  J.  Sheriden,  and  J.  J.  Power,  who 
enlarged  both  churches  considerably.  The  successor 
to  the  last  named  Reverend  gentleman  was  Rev.  M. 
J.  Doherty,  who,  in  addition  to  the  erection  of  a 
very  convenient  and  comfortable  parochial  residence, 
beautified  the  above  churches  interiorly,  and  encour- 
aged the  formation  of  several  religious  associations 
and  confraternities  to  the  greater  glory  of  God  and 
to  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  congregations. 


THE  CHURCH  OF  ST.  PAUL,  BLACKSTONE. 

Years  previous  to  the  erection  of  the  church  in 
this  town,  the  faithful  assembled,  as  often  as  the  Mis- 
sionary found  time  to  visit  them,  in  some  one  of  their 
private  houses,  or  came  together  when  Mass  was 
offered,  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  McCabe,  of  the  ad- 
joining factory  village  of  Waterford,  till  the  church 
was  erected  in  the  neighboring  town  of  Woonsocket. 


DIOCESE    OF   SPRINGFIELD.  33! 

Their  numbers  at  length  warranting  the  undertak- 
ing, they  requested  the  Bishop's  permission  to  build 
a  church  ;  which,  being  obtained,  a  public  meeting 
was  held,  and  a  generous  subscription  on  the  part  of 
all  told  their  unanimity  of  feeling  in  the  enterprise. 
Mr.  Welcome  Farnum,  a  resident  of  the  place, 
though  not  a  member  of  the  Church,  generously  con- 
tributed not  only  an  ample  lot  for  the  contemplated 
new  church,  but  liberal  funds  towards  its  erection. 

The  church  was  commenced  in  the  autumn  of 
1850,  and  dedicated  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Fitzpat- 
rick,  in  1852.  It  is  a  plain  Gothic  edifice  of  stone, 
and,  though  it  lacks  the  ornament  of  many  other 
churches,  there  is  perhaps  no  church  in  New  England 
capable  of  seating  so  many,  or  that  was  built  at  so 
small  a  cost. 

Rev.  Charles  O'Reilly,  who  was  appointed  to  the 
spiritual  charge  of  the  congregation,  held  the  respon- 
sible trust  till  removed  by  death,  in  September,  1857. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  E.  J.  Sheriden,  who  ful- 
filled all  the  duties  of  a  zealous,  devoted  pastor  till 
transferred  to  the  charge  of  St.  Vincent's  Church 
congregation  at  Boston,  in  1867.  Rev.  T.  H.  Bannon 
was  then  appointed;  but  in  the  summer  of  1870,  in 
consequence  of  ill  health,  resigned  his  charge,  and, 
in  a  few  months  after  died  in  Boston,  of  consumption. 
In  the  month  of  October,  1870,  Rev.  W.  A.  Power 
was  installed  pastor  of  the  congregation,  which  ap- 
pointment was  one  of  the  early  blessings  conferred 
on  the  faithful  of  Blackstone  by  Right  Rev.  Dr. 
O'Reilly,  the  newly-appointed  Bishop  of  the  diocese. 


332  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

Such  is  an  authentic,  though  brief  account  of  the 
introduction  of  Catholicity  into  what  is  now  the  Dio- 
cese of  Springfield,  Mass.,  with  its  sixty  odd  churches, 
convent  schools,  and  hospital.  Though  we  have 
mentioned  a  few  of  the  churches  erected  since  the 
death  of  the  illustrious  Bishop  Fenwick,  we  leave  to 
the  future  historian  the  pleasing  labor  of  writing  the 
history  of  the  numerous  churches  erected  during  the 
administration  of  his  worthy  successors,  the  late 
deeply  lamented  Bishop  Fitzpatrick,  and  the  present 
apostolic  laborer  of  the  Boston  Diocese,  Right  Rev. 
Dr.  J.J.Williams. 

In  concluding  these  brief  Sketches  of  the  introduc- 
tion and  progress  of  the  Church  in  New  England,  it 
is  cheering  to  note,  that  where  but  fifty  years  ago 
there  was  but  one  Bishop  and  three  Priests,  there  are 
now  six  Bishops,  over  four  hundred  Priests,  upwards 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty  churches,  with  a  Catholic 
population  of  near  a  million  souls !  Magna  est  ver- 
itas,  et  prevalebit.  Si  Deus  pro  nobis,  quis  contra 
nos?  "If  God  be  for  us,  who  is  against  us?" 
(Rom.  viii.  31.) 


CONCLUSION. 
CLAIMS  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

"He  that  hcareth  you  heareth  Me;  and  he  that  despiseth 
you  despiseth  Me;  and  he  that  despiseth  Me,  despiseth  Him 
that  sent  me.  —  Hear  the  Church,  and  if  a  man  hear  not  the 
Church,  let  him  be  held  as  a  Heathen  and  a  Publican.  —  He 
that  believeth  shall  be  saved;  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be 
condemned." 

THESE  are  texts  from  the  Sacred  Volume,  and  are 
to  be  found  in  the  Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic  edi- 
tions of  that  Book  of  books.  If  the  Bible  be  the 
word  of  God,  then  it  is  certain  that  our  blessed  Lord 
established  a  Church,  and  commanded  all  men  to 
unite  themselves  with  it  under  penalty  of  eternal  loss. 
As  guardians  and  teachers  of  this  Church,  He  ap- 
pointed certain  men  invested  with  peculiar  powers, 
and  made  their  office  perpetual.  Lo,  I  am  ivith  you 
all  days,  even  to  the  consummation  of  time.  To 
these  men  He  gave  a  solemn  commission  to  teach. 
Go  teach  all  nations.  Proclaim  to  all  men  the  words 
of  instruction  and  the  precepts  that  I  have  given  you. 
The  Father  sent  me  with  authority  to  teach  you,  and 
to  present  to  you  the  conditions  of  your  eternal  salva- 
tion. As  the  Father  hath  sent  me,  so  I  send  you. 
Go,  therefore,  to  all  nations  and  tribes  of  the  earth 

333 


334  SKETCHES.    ETC. 

and  teach  them,  and  enjoin  upon  them  to  d*o  and  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you. 
If  they  listen  to  you  and  believe,  they  shall  be  saved ; 
if  they  do  not  believe,  they  shall  be  condemned.  Go 
and  preach,  saying,  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand.  —  Whosoever  shall  not  receive  you,  nor  hear 
your  words,  going  forth  out  of  that  house  or  city, 
shake  off  the  dust  from  your  feet.  It  shall  be 
more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom,  on  the  judg- 
ment-day, than  for  that  house  or  city. 

What  do  we  learn  from  all  this,  but  that  religion, 
true  religion,  is  not  a  matter  to  be  trifled  with  ;  that 
it  is  an  affair  of  awful  moment  the  search  for  truth  ; 
that  the  present  happiness  and  eternal  destiny  of  men 
are  at  stake  upon  the  issue.  But  what  was  true  reli- 
gion in  the  days  of  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  must 
be  true  religion  now,  for  truth  is  like  God,  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever.  Truth,  then,  as  re- 
vealed by  Christ,  and  enjoined  upon  His  apostles,  the 
full  belief,  public  profession,  and  faithful  practice  of 
which  were  the  conditions  of  salvation,  must  have 
always  existed,  and  must  still  exist,  entire  and  uncor- 
rupted.  It  is  of  infinite  importance  then  to  us,  as 
immortal  beings,  to  examine  diligently  and  see  that 
we  possess  it.  It  is  the  pearl  of  great  price  spoken 
of  in  the  gospel,  to  obtain  which  a  man  would  do 
well  to  sell  all  his  possessions  and  purchase  it. 

But  how  are  we  to  make  this  search  ?  Where  shall 
we  seek  it?  The  world  is  full  of  sects,  each  claiming 
for  itself  the  high  prerogative  of  truth,  each  claiming 
to  have  emanated  from  God,  each  to  hold  the  doctrine 


CONCLUSION.  335 

of  the  Son  of  God!  Must  we  examine  them  all? 
Must  we  investigate  the  claims  of  each  ?  Must  we 
search  all  relig-ions?  It  were  a  task  beyand  the  pow- 
ers of  the  human  intellect.  No.  We  are  not  bound 
to  examine  all.  But  we  are  bound  to  examine  the 
claims  of  one.  That  one  is  the  religion  of  Catholics. 
There  are*  reasons,  in  our  search  after  truth,  for  in- 
vestigating the  claims  of  the  Catholic  Church,  that  do 
not  hold  with  regard  to  the  numerous  sects  around 
us.  She  alone  retains  the  name  of  Catholic,  —  a  title 
always  accorded  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  by 
which  it  was  always  distinguished  from  rebellious 
sects.  She  alone  hath  converted  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  and  thereby  fulfilled  the  commission  of  Christ 
—  Go  teach  all  nations.  She  alone  hath  proved  the 
validity  of  her  claims  by  an  uninterrupted  succession 
of  pastors,  from  the  days  of  Christ  to  the  present. 
She  alone  hath  demonstrated  her  divine  origin  and 
guidance  by  a  constant  series  of  miracles.  She  is  the 
oldest  of  all  Churches,  for  she  is  the  first  of  all.  She 
existed  in  all  her  vigor  and  beauty  and  full  develop- 
ment long  before  any  of  the  sects  were  born.  Full 
of  years,  she  is  nevertheless  still  vigorous  and  beauti- 
ful as  when  she  started  into  life.  She  has  existed  in 
every  age,  she  still  exists  in  every  clime.  From  the 
rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going  down  of  the  same  the 
incense  ascends  from  her  altars,  and  the  clean  obla- 
tion is  made  in  her  sanctuaries.  Thrones  have 
crumbled,  dynasties  have  ceased,  busy  cities  have 
become  deserts  and  deserts  busy  cities,  old  worlds 
have  been  forsaken  and  new  worlds  peopled,  many 


336  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

nations  have  apostatized  from  the  truth,  and  many 
more  have  been  converted  and  embraced  the  truth, 
but  the  Catholic  Church  hath  stood,  like  the  rock  of 
ages,  unchanged,  unchangeable,  and  indefectible. 

These  are  some  among  the  many  reasons  why  a 
sincere  inquirer  after  truth  is  bound  to  investigate  the 
claims  of  the  Catholic  Church.  These  are  some  of 
the  reasons  which  will  render  men  inexcusable  before 
God,  should  they  unhappily  live  and  die  without  the 
fold.  O,  that  men  would  but  feel  the  importance  and 
appreciate  the  grandeur  of  this  search  after  true  Wis- 
dom, "  whose  ways  are  beautiful  ways,  and  all  whose 
paths  are  peaceable,"  — "  who,  in  her  right  hand, 
offers  length  of  days,"  —  eternity ;  "  and  in  her  left, 
riches  and  honors,"  —  celestial  treasures,  an  immortal 
crown. 

The  increase  of  Catholicity  in  the  United  States 
will  be  seen  in  the  following  table,  wherein  is  given 
the  number  of  bishops,  churches,  literary  institutions, 
&c.,  at  the  opening  of  the  present  century,  and  in 
any  one  of  the  ten  years  since,  say  from  1840  to 
1850:  — 


CONCLUSION. 


337 


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22 


SKETCHES,    ETC. 


ANECDOTES. 

Strange  were  the  ideas  that  many  non-Catholics 
formerly  had  of  a  Catholic  priest !  They  viewed 
him  as  something  singular  and  unearthly,  wholly  dif- 
ferent from  any  other  mortal.  He  was  generally 
called,  however  young  in  years,  "  the  old  priest,"  or 
"  the  paddy  priest."  Others  again,  after  having  satis- 
fied their  curiosity  upon  seeing  him,  were  heard  to 
remark,  "  that  he  was  no  great  show  after  all ! " 
Scarcely  need  be  mentioned  the  annoyance  that  had 
to  be  contended  with  in  by-gone  days.  We  will,  by 
way  of  amusement,  mention  one  or  two  instances, 
which,  however,  by  those  whose  constitutional  gravity 
may  deem  out  of  place  in  a  work  like  this,  may  pass 
over  in  silence. 

On  a  certain  occasion  the  Missionary  happened  to 
be  the  only  gentleman  passenger  in  the  stage-coach, 
the  rest  being  ladies,  among  whom  was  one,  evidently 
"  Miss  Somebody,"  a  Sabbath  school  teacher,  prob- 
ably, or  the  maiden  aunt  of  a  minister,  for  to  talk 
religion  seemed  her  hobby.  Having  learned  from  the 
coach-driver,  at  one  of  the  way  stations,  the  vocation 
of  the  taciturn  gentleman  passenger,  she  promised 
her  travelling  companions,  it  is  presumed,  in  the  ardor 
of  her  zeal,  a  display  of  her  controversial  powers,  for 
scarcely  had  the  gentleman  returned  to  his  seat,  and 
the  coach  got  fairly  under  way,  than  every  eye  was 
fixed  on  the  discovered  "  popish  priest,"  and  the  lady 


CONCLUSION.  339 

commenced  :  "  Pray,  sir,  do  you  think  man  can  for- 
give sins?"  "Most  assuredly  I  do,  madam,"  replied 
the  priest,  "  most  assuredly  I  do,  and  ladies  too,  I 
trust."  This  was  more  than  anticipated,  and  the 
good-natured  smile  among  her  companions  seemed 
to  intimate,  take  care ;  you  may  have  awaked  the 
wrong  passenger !  However,  not  to  be  silenced  in 
this  summary  way,  "  Pray,  sir,"  resumed  the  lady, 
"  please  explain ;  I  don't  understand  you  ;  how  can 
man  forgive  sins?"  "Why,  madam,"  replied  the 
priest,  "  suppose  a  neighbor  had  calumniated  you,  or 
unkindly  censured  your  motives,  and  upon  reflection 
had  repented  of  what  she  had  done,  and  came  im- 
ploring forgiveness,  could  you  not,  and  would  you 
not  forgive  her?  Assuredly  you  would.  Yes,  you 
would  pardon  her  sin  ;  and  if  ladies  have  such  power, 
why  not  gentlemen  ?  " 

This  good-natured  reply  was  thought  quite  suffi- 
cient under  the  circumstances,  for  had  religious  dis- 
cussion commenced,  the  poor  horses  themselves  would 
have  tired,  in  all  probability,  long  before  it  had  ended. 
From  tea-party  theologians  and  dyspeptic  religionists, 
O,  deliver  us ! 


EARLY  IMPRESSIONS. 

Travelling  at  another  time  in  the  coach,  one  of  the 
passengers,  a  gentleman  who  had  lived  long  enough 
to  discover  that  it  was  not  all  gold  that  glittered,  per- 
ceiving, towards  evening,  a  new  moon,  "  There,"  said 


34-O  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

he,  "  there  is  a  new  moon  ;  now,  when  I  was  young,  I 
was  told  if,  when  I  saw  a  new  moon  over  my  right 
shoulder,  and  I  had  a  penny  in  my  pocket,  it  would 
be  a  lucky  month  for  me.  Now,"  continued  the 
old  gentleman,  "  I  have  outlived  that  foolish  notion, 
and  I  know  it  is  all  superstition,  prejudice,  and  not  a 
word  of  truth  in  it ;  but  positively,  I  acknowledge 
it,  even  to  this  day,  whenever  I  see  a  new  moon,  I 
always  think  of  my  pocket." 


BETTER  INFORMED  THAN  THE  PREACHER. 

Stopping  at  a  certain  town  in  L County,  our 

Missionary  was  invited  to  preach  to  an  audience  com- 
posed of  the  representatives  of  the  varied  shades  of 
Protestantism.  Agreeably  with  custom,  he  invited 
any  one  present,  if  so  disposed,  to  select  a  text  or 
subject  for  discourse.  None  having  been  proposed, 
the  Missionary  went  on  to  illustrate  from  Scripture, 
history,  and  tradition,  a  succinct  account  of  certain 
doctrines  and  teachings  of  the  Church,  particularly 
on  the  necessity  of  heart-felt  sorrow  for  sins  com- 
mitted, without  which  there  was  no  power  on  earth 
able  to  forgive  them.  Respectful  was  the  attention 
of  all  present,  and  by  no  one  more  so  than  a  vener- 
able, and  to  all  appearance,  worthy  gentleman  of 
threescore  and  ten,  who,  at  the  conclusion,  rose  up 
to  say,  that  all  they  had  listened  to  "  was  mere  gam- 
mon ;  that  he  had  read,  and  he  kneiv  the  Catholic 
religion  better  than  that." 


CONCLUSION.  341 


SMALL  BEGINNING  —  HAPPY  RESULT. 

In  the  town  of  P ,  in  the  heart  of  a  neighbor- 
ing State,  there  formerly  lived  a  solitary  Irish  Cath- 
olic, who,  prompted  to  walk  in  the  footsteps  of  others, 
did  a  thriving  business.  He  was  a  pedler  of  small 
wares.  He  was  conscientious,  loved  his  religion,  and 
was,  we  trust,  or  tried  to  be,  an  honest  pedler:  be 
that  as  it  may,  in  his  rambles  from  house  to  house  he 
at  length  found  a  young  woman  of  marriageable  age, 
apparently  to  his  liking,  and  whom  he  proposed 
should  be  his  wife,  provided  she  would  be  of  his 
religion,  "  as  fish  and  flesh  should  never  be  allowed 
on  his  table  on  days  forbidden  by  the  Church,  much 
less  would  he  be  married  like  a  heathen." 

To  the  country  town  of  his  intended,  most  press- 
ingly  invited,  the  Missionary  must  go  and  preach, 
and  a  "  blind  set  they  must  be,"  intimated  our  ped- 
ler, if,  after  hearing  the  plain  truth,  they  were  neither 
convinced  nor  converted  !  Away  then  goes  the  priest 
in  the  pedler's  wagon,  and  at  the  district  school- 
house  the  crowd  are  gathered,  —  as  they  had  heard 
of  his  coming,  —  both  to  see,  and  hear,  and  judge  for 
themselves.  The  evening  passed  away  quite  pleas- 
antly, so  much  so,  that  an  invitation  was  extended  to 
hear  the  preacher  the  following  evening,  in  the  ad- 
joining school-house.  The  invitation  accepted  and 
the  audience  assembled,  strange  to  say,  there  is  no  en- 
trance !  The  door  is  locked,  and  no  one  knows  what 
has  become  of  the  key  !  Prejudice  and  bigotry,  how- 


342  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

ever,  at  length  yield  to.  curiosity,  and  the  key  is 
found  !  At  this  there  is  a  rush  for  the  seats,  and,  by 
certain  outsiders,  a  rush  for  sticks  and  stones ;  and 
then  came  the  contest  between  might  and  right.  A 
few  stones  were  thrown,  and  some  drumming  on  the 
clapboards.  Upon  this  the  Missionary  stepped  out, 
and  politely  invited  all  to  walk  in  and  listen,  and 
then,  if  necessary,  demonstrate.  The  deliberate  good 
sense  of  the  turbulent  triumphed  over  prejudice. 
"  Hear  him  ;  let  us  hear  what  he  has  to  say,  and 
what  he  can  prove."  Order  established,  there  was 
pretty  good  attention  to  the  end  ;  and,  while  the  ma- 
jority came  through  curiosity  to  see  and  hear  for 
themselves  what  they  had  never  looked  upon  before,  — 
"  a  popish  priest,"  —  there  were  those  who  really  ap- 
preciated the  truth,  and  were  prompted  to  inquire 
further ;  and  of  this  apparently  mixed  crowd,  five 
were  subsequently,  after  due  instruction  and  proba- 
tion, admitted  to  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism.  At  this 
day,  within  a  radius  of  ten  miles  of  this  very  town, 
where  a  priest  was  such  an  object  of  curiosity,  there 
are  six  thousand  Catholics. 


TRUTH  TRIUMPHANT. 

We  will  mention  another  little  incident  which 
occurred  at  a  certain  sea-port  town,  where,  at  this 
day,  there  are  upwards  of  two  thousand  Catholics. 

The  Missionary  was  called  to  administer  the  rites 


CONCLUSION.  343 

of  religion  to  a  dying  Christian.  The  call  being 
fifty  miles,  distant,  he  carried,  as  usual,  his  valise, 
which  contained  the  vestments  and  all  else  requisite 
to  offer  the  holy  Sacrifice  of  Mass.  There  were  in 
this  town  a  few  Catholic,  hard-working  sons  of  the 
Emerald  Isle,  who  no  sooner  heard  of  the  priest's 
arrival,  than  they  came,  as  usual,  to  bid  him  a  thou- 
sand welcomes.  Learning  that  he  was  to  remain 
over  night,  they  rejoicingly  carried  his  valise  to  a 
house  in  another  part  of  the  town,  near  to  where 
they  lived,  that  they  might  have  Mass  before  going 
to  their  day's  work  the  following  morning.  With 
the  arrival  of  the  stage-coach  there  came,  the  same 
evening,  a  schooner  from  New  York,  with  a  lady 
passenger  on  board,  who,  when  about  to  disembark 
the  following  morning,  found,  to  her  great  disap- 
pointment, that  her  trunk  and  wearables  were  miss- 
ing. The  police  were  soon  on  the  alert,  and  Irish- 
men were  reported  to  have  been  seen  the  evening 
previous,  hurrying  through  the  street  with  one  trunk, 
for  certain,  if  not  two.  They  were  soon  ferreted  out, 
and  the  Missionary  had  just  finished  Mass,  as  the 
force  entered,  to  seize  the  surmised  thieves,  trunk  and 
all.  The  little  valise  was  scrutinized  and  examined 
thoroughly,  but  however  turned  or  twisted,  it  would 
not  swell  into  anything  like  a  decent-sized  travelling 
trunk,  anyway  !  There  was  mystery,  however,  some- 
where. The  officers  were  puzzled,  and  left  for  con- 
sultation. To  be  outwitted  by  "  a  popish  priest,  and 
ignorant  Irishmen,"  was  too  bad.  By  and  by  others 
came,  and  lest  there  might  be  some  legerdemain  or 


344  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

trickery  in  transforming  the  trunk  into  a  valise,  every- 
thing had  to  be  opened  out  and  displayed,  that  they 
might  testify,  as  one  of  the  officials  remarked,  "  that 
there  were  no  female  wearables  about  it." 

The  place  where  this  little  incident  happened  was 
found  to  be  rather  hard  soil,  and  the  hatred  of 
Catholicity  intense.  It  was  therefore  deemed  advis- 
able to  visit  it,  from  time  to  time,  which  was  done ; 
and  through  notoriety,  which  little  annoyances  like 
the  above,  and  occasionally  stonings  and  hootings  by 
unruly  urchins  for  being  a  popish  priest,  Catholicity 
gained  ground.  A  vacant  lot  of  land,  located  be- 
tween two  fine  frame  buildings,  was  very  quietly 
purchased,  and,  to  the  alarm  of  the  neighbors,  who 
could  not  conveniently  burn  it  down,  without  consid- 
erable inconvenience  to  themselves,  a  Church  and 
Cross  arose  in  their  very  midst. 

We  relate  little  anecdotes  like  these  to  show  the 
feeling  formerly  created  by  bigoted  preachers  and 
prejudiced  writers  upon  the  minds  of  otherwise  ear- 
nest, sincere,  and  benevolent  souls. 


FAITH  IN  THE  PREACHERS. 

Catholics  have  been  often  credited,  and  as  often 
smiled  at,  for  "  pinning  their  faith  to  the  priest's 
sleeve."  The  following  little  incident  will  show  that 
credulity  of  certain  non-Catholics  are  not  always 
faultless.  The  old  adage,  "  that  they  who  live  in 


CONCLUSION.  345 

glass  houses  should  be  careful  how  they  throw 
stones,"  is  worth  remembering. 

At  the  interment  of  a  young  man  at  C , 

where  the  cemetery  was  a  very  dry,  sandy  soil,  as 
the  corpse  was  laid  beside  the  grave  for  the  funeral 
service,  probably  from  its  weight,  or  .friends  standing 
around,  a  small  portion  of  sand  caved  in,  and  it  was 
thought  well  to  remove  it  before  lowering  the  coffin 
to  its  destined  resting-place,  —  a  very  simple  occur- 
rence, and  not  uncommon  under  similar  circum- 
stances. What  was  the  surprise  of  the  Missionary 
to  learn,  in  less  than  forty-eight  hours  after  the  occur- 
rence, that  a  certain  travelling  preacher  regaled  his 
hearers,  at  an  evening  lecture,  with  what  he  knew 
for  truth,  "  as  he  was  passing  through  the  village  at 
the  time  it  happened,"  to  wit,  "  that  several  poor, 
superstitious,  benighted  Irishmen  were  burying  one 

of  their  countrymen  who  had  died  at  C ,  and 

so  heavily  had  they  loaded  the  coffin  "with  candles 
and  specie,  quarters  and  halves,  to  get  his  soul 
through  purgatory,  that  the  coffin  burst,  and  all 
present  saw  it ! " 

By  no  means  is  it  surprising  that  many  otherwise 
well-meaning,  simple-minded  souls  should  be  preju- 
diced against  Catholics,  their  practices  and  religion, 
when  thus  hoodwinked  by  those  whom  they  pay  so 
well  to  pray  and  to  preach  the  word. 

At  the  next  interment  in  the  same  place  the  cal- 
umny was  alluded  to,  and  those  present  who  were 
not  Catholics  requested  to  observe  everything  well ; 
that  if  any  one  felt  curious  to  know  the  name  of  the 


346  SKETCHES,    ETC. 

detractor,  he  might  hear  it  privately,  after  the  service. 
One  gentleman  remained  to  learn  the  name  of  the 
preacher ;  and  when  informed,  replied,  "  I  know 
him.  It  sounds  just  like  him,  the  old ." 

Answer  a  fool,  it  is  said,  according  to  his  folly. 
That  was  a  droll  incident  where  the  priest,  while 
travelling,  reading  his  Breviary,  was  accosted,  when 
through,  by  an  itinerant  preacher,  who,  peering  over 
his  shoulder,  and  guessing  whom  he  addressed,  said, 
"Sir,  do  you  understand  what  you  were  reading?" 
The  priest,  looking  up  with  the  air  and  tone  of  one 
apparently  deaf,  re-echoed,  "  Sir !  "  "  Do  you  under- 
stand," repeated  the  minister,  in  a  clear,  ringing 
voice,  "  do  you  understand,  sir,  what  you  have  been 
reading?"  "Sir,"  again  replied  the  priest,  putting 
his  hand  to  his  ear,  as  though  still  not  understanding 
the  impertinent  question.  The  inquisitive  divine, 
concluding  he  was  trying  to  talk  with  the  deafest 
man  ever  met  in  all  his  travels,  had  no  more  to  say. 


Date  Due 


PRINTED   IN   U.S. 


CAT.   NO.   24    161 


